Fixing a Hole
by Mishiko Shinsei
Summary: SxYY Graduation Day brings Seto more pain than he expected. Rated for later chapters. Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Where the rain gets in **

Mokuba leans back into the soft plush of the white loveseat, watching his brother as he 'finishes up a few things' before they left for dinner. Frowning, he takes in the mop of brown hair, slicked down with too much gel; the perpetual wrinkle in his brow, the down-trodden look in those once intense eyes, the slope of shoulders that have lost their arrogance….When had his brother gotten so…..old?

At 17, Mokuba has spent years observing Seto, adapting some of his more positive traits. Like Seto, he studied everything earnestly; not merely for the understanding, but to wield the knowledge in conquest, if necessary. That's why Seto knew so much; why he read all kinds of books and studied several languages to fluency. It was all about power and control.

But now, that control seemed to be deserting him. His smiles, the few that appeared, never reached his eyes. Mokuba could always tell Seto's feelings from his eyes, but the last few months, they just seemed….empty, hollow; like someone important to him had died. No matter how many times he asked, Seto always brushed him off; saying he was "fine". Mokuba knew he wasn't fine and balked at Seto's continued lying about it.

Seto looks up, brandishing one of his fake smiles, and apologizes, again, for taking so long.

"Ten more minutes, Mok," he promises.

"Sure, Seto," Mokuba replies half-heartedly.

Seto pauses a moment before turning back to his computer.

'Ten more minutes won't make a difference', Mokuba muses. 'I want my brother back, not this shell.'

In just four months, Mokuba would be off to Tokyo University to study Business, having passed his entrance exams with flying colors. Seto had been so proud of him and had graced him with one of his real smiles at the news. Mokuba's excitement with going away to school lasted until he caught the life leaving his brother's eyes. Now, he worried about leaving him alone in that sterile mansion with no one to talk to and here at his desk wasting away as he fought back the vultures trying to take over his company.

He'll be all alone in the world. At least if the yugi-tachi were here, he'd have someone to argue with. Even grandpa Mouto would be better than nothing. But his friends were all gone now, moved on to their own schools to study and then on with their lives. Grandpa had sold the Game Shop and retired to his hometown, Jou and Mai, had finally gotten married, Anzu stopped following Yami around long enough to realize that Honda was human and they'd begun dating seriously, and Otogi and Yugi moved to Hawaii and started a Japanese import/export business; mostly for Duel Monsters and manga. Yami was….well, he didn't really know where Yami was. He knew the spirit had followed Yugi to college and stayed a few weeks while he got settled. He knew about Yami's planned trip to Egypt to work on a dig for a while, courtesy of Grandpa Muto pulling a few strings from his days as an Egyptologist. Actually, he couldn't remember if Yami had ever come back.

Mokuba shrugs to himself. Yugi wasn't worried about it, so he wouldn't be either. Wherever the spirit is, he must be okay.

Though he spoke with most of the Yugi-tachi often, usually daily via IM and e-mail, none of them ever contacted Seto. Not that Mokuba expected them to, really. Seto had made his feelings clear on Graduation day.

Or had he?

Mokuba looks back at Seto from where he'd been staring blankly at the space between the bookcase and the window. Narrowing his eyes, he realizes something he'd missed before now; Seto hasn't been the same since that day. Not really. In being his usual cold, arrogant self, he'd finally chased away the only friends he'd ever had.

The yugi-tachi were exchanging addresses and numbers of where they'd be living and/or going to school. Even Grandpa Muto dolled out the address of his new retirement home. Joey had approached Kaiba first to exchange info with him, the excitement of going to college when just a few short years ago he'd barely made it into high school shone brightly on his face. He'd figured that, since high school was over, maybe he and Kaiba could 'bury the hatchet', so to speak. But it was not to be. Kaiba acted exactly like Kaiba.

The group took him seriously when he told them that he'd, "Rather eat my own intestines sautéed with peanut butter, than to have anything to do with you losers. Especially you, mutt," he'd gestured to Joey with a sneer.

Uncharacteristically, Jou didn't launch himself at Seto like he usually would.

"Good-bye, Kaiba. Have a nice life," was Jou's only reply as he took Mai's hand and walked away.

Mokuba knew something epic had occurred, but Seto seemed oblivious, continuing his taunts to Jou's quietly retreating back. Whirling in triumph as though he'd finally had the last word, Mokuba caught the fleeting startled look in Seto's eyes when Yugi and Yami also turned away, followed closely by Anzu, Otogi and Honda. As they retreat behind Jou, a frown of incomprehension crossed Seto's face. Grandpa had spoken then.

"I feel sorry for you, Kaiba", he'd sighed deeply, "because it seems you'll always be alone."

"I'm not alone," he'd snapped, "I have Mokuba."

"That's your brother. What about your friends?"

"Friends! Ha! Like those losers could have ever been my friends! I don't need any friends! Let's go Mokuba!" Seto had dragged him out to the limo and they'd had a private celebratory dinner at a fancy restaurant.

The next day, Seto had started working full-time, having decided college would be a waste of his time and money as he knew everything he needed to in order to run KaibaCorp.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that understanding dawned on Seto.

He'd found the invitation lying on the table in the den.

_**What?**_

_Celebration pool party!_

_**When?**_

_Saturday, August 10th!_

_**Where?**_

_Mai (and Jou's) place!_

_**Why?**_

'_Cause we're gettin' hitched! _

_Oh, and 'causeyou all graduated!_

"Mokuba", he'd questioned as his brother entered the den later, "when did you get this? I didn't see anything for you in the mail this morning."

Mokuba had looked away guiltily before replying.

"Yugi gave it to me last night."

"Last night?'

"At the arcade. Remember, you said I could go with friends?"

"Why didn't they just come here and get you like they usually do?"

"Yugi called from his cell and said that they decided to go at the last minute and were already on their way there and wanted me to meet them."

"They only gave you one," Seto had mumbled questioningly.

A shadow of hurt crossed his brother's face then and Mokuba started.

"Well…um…I-I'm sure they meant it for both of us."

A somber air settled around Seto then that Mokuba could still see four years later.

"No," he'd intoned, soberly handing Mokuba the invitation, "No, they didn't."

That became the first of many invitations Seto wouldn't receive.

Glancing at his watch after breaking out of his reverie, Mokuba sighs heavily. It had been _well_ over ten minutes.

"Seto," he grumbled.

"A few more minutes, Mok. I promise."

Mokuba stood.

"Seto," it's nearly 9:30 at night. I've been waiting here since 4:00 this afternoon! And I'm starving! You said you'd be leaving early! I could have just gone to dinner without you!"

Seto crossed his hands in front of his face, glaring dangerously.

"Don't whine, Mokuba. You're not a child anymore. Petulance doesn't become you."

Glowering, Mokuba turned to leave. To hell with this! He didn't feel like dealing with 'Asshole Brother' right now. And he really was very hungry.

"Where are you going? Can't you understand how important it is for me to maintain order and control of my business? I would think you could stand a few hunger pains," he calls.

Mokuba stops at the massive oak doors.

"Grandpa Muto was right, Seto," he whispers before bolting out the doors.

Seto's mask of indifference slips momentarily before he slams in back into place, resuming his work.

Seto leans back in his chair, stretching to relieve some of the tension in his shoulders. Glancing at the digital readout on his desk, he grimaces.

1:15 am.

"So much for dinner; again," he grumbles.

Was it only three days ago that Mokuba had stormed out, mumbling some nonsense about 'Grandpa Muto was right'? They'd each done their best to avoid the other since then. He hated fighting with Mokuba, especially now that he'd soon be lost to him forever. Despite his assurances to the contrary, Seto know Mokuba wouldn't want to come back and live in the mansion under his rule once he'd gotten a taste of life outside of Domino. No, soon he'd be alone in that house, surrounded by servants of questionable loyalty, and alone at Kaiba Corp., surrounded by employees of questionable loyalty.

Maybe it wasn't nonsense.

Still, even if that old man was right, what did it matter? He's Seto Kaiba. With the exception of his brother, he'd been alone most of his life. If that was his fate, so be it.

His eyes trail to the lone photo on his desk, a shot of him and Mokuba taken some years ago. Smiling lightly, he picks up the large silver frame as his mind drifts with memory. They took the picture right after the Grand Prix when Mokuba had insisted they spend the day at Kaibaland. Spending the day with his beloved little brother eased the irritation he felt at having to deal with that idiot Ziegfried. They rode all of the rides Mokuba wanted, ate anywhere Mokuba wanted, basically did everything Mokuba wanted. Which is how the picture came about, Mokuba wanted to take it.

Mokuba had dragged Seto into one of those booths that take four miniature pictures before he could protest. While all four shots came out well, this one made Seto happiest, though neither of them actually faced the camera. Mokuba is caught in mid-giggle as Seto tickles him, a big smile plastered on the half of Seto's face that's visible. Seto had the shot enhanced and blown up, bought a frame for it and has kept in on his desk ever since.

Returning the frame to its place of honor, he closes his laptop, deciding it's time to head home. Sliding the thin computer into its carrying case and slipping it over his shoulder, he turns out the lights and leaves, his office door locking automatically behind him.

'This has gone long enough', Mokuba yawns as he sits in the front room waiting for his brother to come home. Three days without speaking to Seto had started to really bother him. He was going to end their stalemate tonight. After another yawn, he checks his watch, 1:20 am. Where the hell is he?

The front door closing wakes Mokuba from his impromptu snooze.

"Seto…" he mumbles sleepily, staggering toward the stairs.

Seto spots his little brother and pauses in his ascension to his room. Mokuba tries not to flinch from the usual plastic smile on his brother's face. Deciding he's too tired to say all of the things he'd rehearsed in his head, he simply throws himself into the familiar warm embrace. Pulling back a few minutes later, Mokuba mumbles a sleepy 'Goodnight' and heads to his room for a well needed rest.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

****

**Stops my mind from wandering**

_To: 'Aibou'_

_From: 'The Pharaoh'_

_Yugi,_

_My flight arrives at 8:00pm. Don't forget to pick me up!_

_Yami_

_p.s. I can't wait to get home!_

Yugi re-read the short e-mail and sighed to himself.

He couldn't wait for Yami to get home either. It had been a long four years. Though he supported his other half's need to go, he still didn't fully agree with it.

It was day two of spring break in his freshman year of college, when Yami sprung the news. His other self would be leaving that summer for a dig in Egypt and wouldn't be back for two to six years. Grandpa had pulled some strings and gotten him on the dig to unearth some of Ramses III approximately 100 children.- He'd be working on kids number 40 to 50 or thereabouts. Yami wasn't sure at the time. He just knew his time of arrival and the location of the site they'd assigned him. As it turned out, he worked on kids' number 26, 32, 38, 40, 45, 47 and 52.

"_I don't understand, Yami. Why do you need to go back to Egypt? And what's the point of working on a dig? You know who you are now. You have all of your memories back. What more is there?"_

"_Aibou, I just need to do this. I need to spend some time in my own land. I need to go home."_

"_This **is** your home! Here! Domino! **This** is where your heart is. Where your **friends** are! You have **no one** there!"_

"_Aibou…"_

"_And you don't even know how long you'll be gone! What am I supposed to do while you're traipsing off around the world?"_

"_Traipsing? Is that even a word?"_

"_This is no time for jokes, Yami! Why'd you even come with me to college if you knew you weren't staying? I had things all planned out for us to hang together when I had some down time."_

"_I wanted to make sure you got settled alright."_

"_I would have been fine! I'm not a baby!"_

"_I know, Aibou."_

I remember that his calm just made me angrier. Especially knowing that he and Grandpa had planned all of this behind my back.

"_Whose idea was it for you to leave now? Grandpa's? He's always wanted to go back to Egypt. I'm sure he couldn't wait to get you back there so you could help him relive his glory days again. I remember that he asked you millions of times about it the last time you went."_

"_Actually, Aibou, I wanted to leave right after graduation. Grandpa asked me to stay with you for your first year." _

That had shocked me. Yami wanted to get away from us - from me - that badly? I remember feeling very hurt. It must have shown on my face because the next thing I knew, he'd hugged me to him, re-assuring me that he wasn't leaving because of me and that he would be coming back.

"I need to do this, Aibou. I know you don't understand, but I need you to be all right with it. I promise I'll be back once my part of the dig is over. Because, like you said, this is my home."

Embarrassingly, I'd turned into a sopping wet mess then. Ugh! What a wuss.

Closing my laptop, I take a moment to stretch my back out. I'd been sitting at the kitchen table of my hotel for hours reading my e-mails, checking my LJ and generally playing around and now I was a little stiff.

Checking my watch, I note that I have about three hours before I need to leave for the airport. At that moment, my stomach chooses to remind me that I'd skipped lunch with my real life friends to bond with my on-line friends. Hmm. Maybe I could meet my real life friends for dinner.

As if on cue, my cell rings, announcing Jou's call.

His ring tone is "Who Let the Dogs Out", but I'd never tell him that. Back in high school, Kaiba got a hold of my phone one day and programmed it in without my knowledge. That afternoon, when Jou called me at the shop, I remember seeing his name on the caller ID and laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

I've kept it all these years, adding it every time I got a new phone.

Breaking from my musings, I grab the phone before it goes to voicemail.

"Hey Jou!"

"What took you so long to answer? Were you laughing at my ring tone again?'

"W-What," I sputter.

"You know. 'Who let the dogs out?' You were laughing about it again, weren't you?

"No, I…. You knew? How long have you known?"

"Pfft. Since high school, man! Did you really think Kaiba would pull such a prank and leave it be? He told me the next day, proving it by calling you from my phone at lunchtime. You know he was never one to 'let sleeping dogs lie.'"

I laugh out loud at that. Every since he and Mai made it official, Jou took a lot of things much less seriously. Though strange at first not to see 'hothead' Jonouchi and his 'backup man' Honda beating up anyone in sight for the smallest infraction, I have to admit it was a welcome change. Not to say that there aren't still occasional ass-kickings going on, but the reasons are usually loftier than 'He looked at me funny.'

"So, Mutou," Jou begins once I've calmed, "What are you doin' for dinner?'

"I'm eating whatever you and Mai are feeding me," I reply with a smile.

"Good! Be here in 20 minutes."

"You got it. See you then!"

"Right. Bye!"

"Bye!"

* * *

Man, Mai can cook. I haven't eaten that well in weeks. 

As I make my way to the airport, I remind myself that Otogi's flight comes in later tonight.

"Humph. I might as well camp out at the airport," I grumble.

I tried to get Otogi to fly in earlier so I wouldn't have to make two trips, but he wanted spend more time with _Lalani_.

"_Otogi, you're only going to be gone two weeks," _I'd argued over the phone. _"She can live without you for that long can't she?"_

"_I know, but I don't want her to forget me while I'm gone."_

"_For crying out loud, it's only two weeks!"_

"_You wouldn't understand, single-man."_

"_Oh, please. I'm single by choice."_

"_You keep telling yourself that."_

"_Otogi, it's stupid for you to take a later flight just to spend time with a girl you've only known two months."_

"_Love has bloomed in shorter periods."_

"_Are you saying you're 'in love', Otogi," I'd snarfed._

"_Always, Yugi. Always."_

"_You'd just better be on that plane."_

"_I promise. After a few hours of bliss, I'll shower and fly home."_

"_TMI, Otogi."_

"_Right. You know you want details."_

"_Hanging up now."_

"_Catch you tomorrow. My flight gets in at 1:30 am."_

"_Tomorrow. You owe me. Next month's inventory is all yours."_

"_Trust me, she's worth it; quite the limber little minx. I can't tell you all of the positions we've tried."_

"_Ewww! Don't want that image in my head! Really hanging up now!"_

He laughed.

"_Yugi, you're still such an innocent. When's the last time you got laid anyway?"_

I hung up on him then.

* * *

I look at my watch again. 

8:55 pm

Yami's plane landed, supposedly, at 8:15 pm after a short delay. I've been standing in baggage claim for 30 minutes. Where the hell is he? Did he miss his plane? I check my phone again for messages. Nothing.

Twenty minutes later, I see a familiar head of red, black and blonde heading my way and all questions about his whereabouts fly out of my head. I can't contain the grin of delight that erupts from my face. It's been much to long since I've seen my other half.

"Yami!" I call waving frantically.

A grin almost the size of mine splits his face. Gleefully, I practically tackle him when he reaches me, laughing with joy at finally having my Yami back with me after all these years.

"I've missed you too, Aibou," he affirms, nearly crushing me with his hug.

Finally pulling back from each other, I give him a once over. He's darker, by a lot. And taller, though not by much. (He's still taller than me by about three inches. My late college growth spurt of two-and-a-half inches didn't help at all.)

"You look great, Yami."

"You too, Aibou."

We stand there grinning like idiots for a while longer.

"C'mon, let's get your stuff and get out of here before I start bawling like a baby," I suggest, heading for his flight's baggage claim.

He laughs.

"Sure. And then can we get some food? I'm starving."

**A/N:** The entrance to this series of tombs was discovered by archeologists about six years ago.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

/blah/ Yami

/blah/ Yugi

**I'm Filling the Cracks**

_I'm going under_

_Drowning in you_

_I'm falling forever_

_I've got to break through_

_I'm going under_

I sing along to the song blaring in my ears. Not that I'm a huge Evanescence fan or anything, but the _Fallen _CD is great to ride to.

Jou called me on my cell a few hours ago and invited me over for dinner.

"Got a big surprise for you, Mok!" He'd exclaimed. I hope he doesn't think it'll be news to me about Anzu and Honda moving in together. That's old. But knowing Jou, that's probably it.

Or maybe he and Mai are…

Nah! He sounded too calm for that. If the remote possibility existed that he'd be a dad, he'd be running all over town telling everybody he knew about it.

Revving my bike a little more, I speed down the road to Jou and Mai's. I love riding. It's almost as good as flying. Actually, I guess that's why I love it, the glide, the speed, dipping and turning and revving and the wind…gods…the wind in my face! No matter how often I do it, every ride is intensely new.

_Wake me up inside _

_Wake me up inside _

_Call my name and save me from the dark_

It took me six months to talk Seto into buying me this motorcycle. It wasn't the price that bothered him so much as the power and speed that would be at my command.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Mokie," he'd stated, pulling out that old nickname.

The first conversation we had about it happened after we returned from a ride together, him on his 1983 Suzuki GSX110 Katana and me on my 1985 Kawasaki ZX750E Turbo. It was the second summer after his graduation. Seto had purchased the bikes from a vintage dealer and we spent most of the summer restoring them to their former glory. I think that was the last time he smiled honestly on a regular basis rather than every once in a great while like he does now.

After restoring them and taking a few test drives, we placed our masterpieces back into the garage for safe keeping. Over the next two summers, we restored another three bikes, a 1976 Kawasaki 900 LDT and a 1969 Honda CL 175K3 for him and a 1974 Suzuki TS250 for me. The 1969 Bridgestone proved more than we could handle last summer because the parts were impossible to get. Despite the other bikes, the Katana and the Turbo remained our favorites.

So, we'd come back from riding and I'd mentioned wanting a newer model Italian motorcycle.

"Italian?" he'd scoffed. "As if they could make a motorcycle better than Japan."

But once I showed him the specs for the 1997 Ducati ST2, he changed his tune.

"That's a lot of power, Mokuba," he'd frowned. "I'm not sure to could handle it."

I'd rolled my eyes at his unfounded concern. I knew I'd be a hell of a lot safer on that silver powerhouse than I was on my favorite Turbo. Still, it took me six months to convince him of that. When the bike arrived, I spent weeks checking it over and tweaking things here and there until I felt it was worthy of a test run. Seto accompanied me on his Moto Guzzi V7 Ippogrifo, which he'd purchased from the same Italian dealer as my ST2 and worked on alongside me.

I led the way on my silver bullet (my nickname for it) and he followed on his V7, which he'd had customized with a Blue Eyes Shining Dragon. That first run, I bonded with this mighty machine. Now, I use it to go just about everywhere in all kinds of weather.

_Holding my last breath_

_Safe inside myself_

_Are all my thoughts of you_

I pull up in front of Jou and Mai's and park the bike, turning on the highly sophisticated alarm system Seto designed personally. Taking off my helmet, I pull the headphones from my ears, stuffing them in my jeans' pocket along with my MP3 player. I shake my head wildly a few times to get rid of my 'helmet hair' before knocking on the door. When it swings open after a few moments, I nearly fall over with surprise.

"Y-Yugi," I stutter in disbelief. He smiles that same bright smile I remember from two years ago; the last time I'd seen him in person. A matching smile splits my face. Carefully placing my helmet on the carpeted floor, I fling my arms around him with joy.

"Oh, man! I can't believe you're here! When did you get back? Are you staying?" I nearly knock him over with my enthusiasm. Actually, I do knock him over as I find us tumbling over an ottoman in the living room. Laughter erupts around us and I rub my head sheepishly. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch site of the former Dungeon Dice Master.

"Otogi!" I exclaim. "You're here too? Wow! This is great! Excellent surprise, Jou! I would never have figured this out in a million years."

"And that's not all." A warm tenor accompanies the arms helping me up from the floor.

No. No way.

I slowly turn and lock eyes with the game king. I can't believe…He looks so different, yet exactly as I remember him. Crimson eyes capture his sincere smile, blonde bangs dangling playfully, his duskier complexion serving to further accent his eyes and hair. I can tell he's grown a few more inches, though he's still shorter than me and Nii-sama will still tower over him.

"Y-Yami," I whisper, suddenly feeling very wrong for being here without Seto. This should be Seto's moment; his moment to see the rival he's missed so much. With Yami gone, Seto stopped dueling; even with me. He locked his deck away and abandoned the duel dome. That's also when he started working more and smiling less. And getting old. Yami made Nii-sama's world go around, though he'd never admit it. Despite my intention to be happy about seeing Yami, my face falls, along with the first of many tears.

What my brother has lost…

And I don't know how to get it back for him. They all left him. They turned away. Even Yami, who I know understood Nii-sama better than anyone but me.

And here I am, standing with these traitors, so glad to see the biggest traitor of them all that I can't speak.

"Mokuba?" Yami ventures, pulling me into his arms. I lean down, placing my forehead on his shoulder as the sobs overtake me. I'm not crying for myself, not really. It's for all the pain Nii-sama has stuffed behind his cold, plastic façade. It's for the countless times I've seen him swallow a sigh of discontent. It's for the lost and empty look that frequently invades his eyes. It's for the late nights he sits in his study drinking and chain-smoking when he thinks I've gone to bed and don't know of his despair. It's for his acute loneliness that has swelled to even greater proportions in the last few months as my date of departure for college draws nearer.

No, there are no tears for myself.

Unless they're tears of joy.

Now that Yami's back, maybe my Nii-sama will return too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'd expected an array of responses, but definitely not this. Mokuba's distraught form leans against me, silent sobs wracking his frame. He's gotten a lot taller since I saw him five years ago, and filled out some, but his wild black hair and blue-grey eyes remain as I remember them.

Carefully I steer him toward the sofa, meaning to give him (and me!) a better position for him to share whatever sorrow has enveloped him. Abruptly, he pulls away, scrubbing the tears from his face.

"S-sorry, Yami," he chokes. "It's just so good to see you."

I don't believe him for a minute, but I'll play along for now.

"I understand. I'm glad to see you too."

He smiles brightly, the genuine emotion banishing the unexplained sorrow from his face.

"So, are you back for good, Yami?"

"Yes. I'll be staying with Jou and Mai until I get a new job and find an apartment."

His smile droops a little and he turns to Yugi.

"So, you and Otogi aren't staying, Yugi?"

"No, we're just visiting for a while. Otogi's flying back next Tuesday, but I'll be here for another month. Yami and I still have to go see jii-chan."

I watch as Mokuba slides effortlessly into 'just hanging with my friends' mode. He's almost as good at hiding his emotions as Kaiba when he wants to.

Kaiba. I wonder how he's doing. His absence and Mokuba pointedly not mentioning it, proves that they're still shunning him. It's been five years; they should have gotten over it by now.

It angered me when I discovered how my friends had shut Kaiba out and made me part of their pact to do so, unknowingly. I barely spoke to any of them, even my aibou, for about a month.

Though I'd turned from him Graduation Day as well, my intent to teach him a lesson only extended as far as the next morning. I'd risen with plans to call and find out when and where we'd be meeting for our planned celebratory lunch, only to find that his phone had been blocked. I couldn't get him from my cell, Yugi's cell or the house phone. When I tried e-mailing him, my mails bounced back. He'd even de-friended me on Live Journal!

After a few days of that, I decided I'd had enough and would go talk to him face to face. After all, it wasn't the first time he'd blocked my calls because he was mad at me, and I'd just gone and talked to him and things went back to normal. I expected that time to be no different, though I should have suspected something because he'd never de-friended me before.

Upon arriving at Kaiba Corp., I casually made my way to the elevator and keyed in his personal code for access to his floor. Besides Seto, only Mokuba and I had it. Imagine my surprise when, not only didn't it work, but it also set off an alarm and I was unceremoniously ushered from the building. Stunned, I sat on the ground for a while before trying his cell and private office lines. Both gave me the same 'Calls are not being accepted from this number' recording that I got from his home phone. At a loss, I went home. Once my head cleared a little, I tried Mokuba's cell. He'd had no idea Kaiba had blocked me and promised to set things right.

That night, Mokuba came out with us for arcade night. Actually, that's when I should have suspected a deeper conspiracy. Previously, we'd always picked up Mokuba from home. For some reason, Yugi insisted he meet us there and we'd drop him off later. That became the pattern for every event Mokuba participated in with us, well except for Jou and Mai's engagement/graduation party.

A limo dropped Mokuba off, but Kaiba wasn't with him.

"Mokuba, where's Kaiba," I'd asked. A slightly guilty look crossed his face before he answered.

"Umm, well he didn't think he was invited."

"Of course he was invited," I'd protested. "Why would he think that?"

"Because Yugi only gave me one invitation."

Shocked, I'd turned to my aibou for confirmation. A determined look set on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, head held high. I couldn't believe it.

"I tried to convince him that he should come," Mokuba continued, "but he said he understood and walked away."

/Why/

/We were tired of his crap, Yami./

/That's it/

/That's enough./

Blind fury threatened to overtake me, but I held it in check. I wouldn't do that in front of Mokuba and I wouldn't ruin Jou and Mai's moment. I decided to confront them later about it. In the meantime, I would try to talk to Seto.

Attempting to put that part of my plan into action, I rode home with Mokuba after the party. I never made it out of the limo.

"But he's my friend!" Mokuba had protested when the driver explained I wasn't allowed on the premises.

"I'm sorry, Master Mokuba, but Mr. Kaiba specifically gave instruction not to allow Yugi nor any of his cohorts access to any Kaiba Corp. property.

"Cohorts!" I'd exclaimed. "I'm his friend!"

"Regardless, I cannot allow you into the house. As it is, you should not even be in this car. I will take you back to the house where I found you now," he retorted, slamming the door in my face. I could hear Mokuba's protests as we drove away.

Several days later, Mokuba called me on my cell and apologized profusely. I made sure he understood that I didn't blame him at all and we promised to meet up later and talk.

Unfortunately, the party would be the last time I saw him as Yugi's need for my assistance while he got ready for college overwhelmed everything else. I'd needed to get some things together too since I'd be spending a year with him before going to Egypt for the dig. Things between us were strained because of what had happened with Kaiba, but I couldn't abandon him when he needed me. He was still my aibou.

Pulling myself from the still disturbing memories, I allow the others' joy of being together again infect me. It's easily 2:30 in the morning before we all wind down. I insist that Mokuba stay the night as he can barely stand up let alone ride home.

"Besides," I cajole, "how could I get a taste of that machine's power if I'm too sleepy to enjoy it?"

He relents, promising a 'sinus-clearing ride' in the morning. Somehow, that didn't sound too appealing.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Where I Belong I'm Right**

Mokuba didn't come home last night. He's never done that before, not come home. He's never left me in that empty house by myself. I guess I should expect it. After all, soon he'll be in college and then he'll be gone for good.

I need to get used to the emptiness, as it will be all I have in a short while.

Shaking off my moment of self-pity, I turn back to the boring meeting behind me. These idiots. How can it be that no matter how many times I hire new blood they're all just as stupid as the last bunch?

"How many times do I have to say it, Takahashi," I bellow, "We are not teaming up with that American company! They want to make the duel disks into little plastic toys! I will not have my creation diminished in that manner!"

"But sir," that idiot persisted, obviously not understanding that I could fire him between one word and the next, "it's a very lucrative market. Think of how much money Kaiba Corp. would make."

"Money isn't everything, Takahashi," I grumble. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Hmm. Judging by the shocked faces of the rest of the board, I must have. Better clean that up quick.

"What good is money if you produce an inferior product that any fly-by-night company could produce? It would make Kaiba Corp. look just like any other company and we are most certainly not just any other company. The duel disks are one of our signature products. If we decide that they are worthless, our patrons will think they are worthless as well. Honestly, if you were given a choice to pay 5,000 yen for the plastic disk and 10, 000 yen for the real one, which would you choose?"

"The real one of course," he answers a little too enthusiastically. Hmm, Maybe he does realize I can fire him between words.

"Honestly?" I prod.

"N-no, Mr. Kaiba. But, it's still not a problem because they'd only be available in America!"

I laugh heartily, scaring these idiots even more.

"Do you really believe that none of the devices would find their way here?"

Dawning reality hits his features. Anything can be purchased online. And if those fakes start flooding the market, Kaiba Corp. stocks would take a direct hit.

"N-no, sir," he responds sadly.

"Then this discussion is ended, Takahashi," I glare at him. "And I don't expect it to come up again, am I clear?"

"Y-yes, Mr. Kaiba," he stutters.

I lean back in my chair, raking the rest of these fools with my gaze.

"And that goes for any other ideas that suggests a 'dumbing-down' of any Kaiba Corp. products," I sneer. "I will not tolerate any attempts to lessen this company's status as the top gaming company in the world! Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba!" They all chorus.

"Good! This meeting is adjourned."

I whirl my chair around. I'm sick of these fools now. We'd already been here for two hours. In two more minutes I'd be firing them all.

And where the hell is Mokuba?

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"Oh, shit," I exclaim, clinging to Mokuba as we careen down the road at an ungodly speed, Mokuba laughing insanely all the way. 'Sinus-clearing ride' was right.

Why had I agreed to this again? Oh, yes. It was the only way to get him to stay over and get some sleep.

Quickly gobbling up Mai's fantastic breakfast, Mokuba and I spent the rest of the morning riding around town and out in the country. After a number of hairpin turns, abrupt stops and frantic starts, we pull up to a small coffee shop near the outskirts of town. That bike really is quite the machine, but I'm happy to place my butt on a nice stable chair, nonetheless.

I watch Mokuba sipping his coffee ecstatically and smile.

"I see you have the same addiction as your brother," I tease. He grins.

"I couldn't help it. We very rarely had tea around and I needed to stay awake to study."

I smile and sip my own coffee. I tease Mokuba, but I developed a bit of an addiction myself while at college with Yugi. Though this stuff is criminally weak compared to the stuff I drank in Egypt, it does take the edge off.

"How is your brother," I inquire, casually, though my desire to know is anything but.

A pause. Not a long one, but a pause.

"He's okay. Working hard. You know Seto," he smirks.

Hmm. Let's see. In Mokuba speak that's 'He's miserable. He hides from everything by burying himself in work. Maybe if he saw you he might act like a human again.'

I willingly take the bait.

"It's been a long time since I saw him," I reply just as casually as before. "Do you think he'd mind if we came by today?"

"I guess not. Let's go," he exclaims, downing the last of his coffee.

I follow suit and we hop back on that silver bullet and head to Kaiba Corp.

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Crossing the lobby quickly, we step into the same elevator I remember from five years ago. Though I really want to do this, I'm more nervous than I've lead Mokuba to believe. After all, the last time I saw Kaiba, I was turning away from him. Shunning him. Can I smooth over that memory for him by showing up now? I don't know.

It would be nice to know if he got my letters. Once I accepted that I couldn't reach him via electronic or modern means, I tried something old fashioned; hand written letters. I started writing him early in Yugi's first semester and kept writing, off and on, until last summer. I'd decided to send them to his office in the hopes that maybe he'd read them and not throw them directly into the fireplace. Since he never responded, I don't know if he just didn't want to or if he never actually read them. I don't know why I kept writing when he never responded, but I did. I guess at some point the letters became therapeutic in a way. I could say things in them that I couldn't say to anyone else, not even Yugi.

On second thought, I hope he did burn them.

The elevator opens and the time for doubt passes. Mokuba waves to the secretary who seems to stare at me. I smile politely.

"Nii-sama," Mokuba calls knocking on Kaiba's office door.

The door swings open and an angry CEO steps out.

"Where the hell have you been, Mokuba?" he yells.

Mokuba narrows his eyes and sweeps past him into the office. I follow discretely behind an obviously enraged Kaiba.

As their argument grows more heated, I decide that it might be better if I left, quietly closing the door behind me.

I wave to the staring secretary and head out. I'll just catch a cab back to Jou's place.

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The brothers random yelling continues for a few more minutes after Yami leaves until Mokuba asks the defining question.

"What the hell are you so mad about, Seto!"

"What am I mad about! You leave the house for 'dinner with a friend', which friend you didn't mention, so it was probably that mutt…"

"Seto…"

"And then you don't come home! At all! I stayed awake half the night waiting for you!"

"You stay awake half the night anyway!"

"You could have called, Mokuba!"

"I know that!"

"Then why didn't you?"

"I…I…"

He didn't know why. He'd just been so happy it slipped his mind. And then he was too tired to care. And then Yami coaxed him into staying the night.

Oh, shit! Yami!

Flinging the office door open frantically, he looks around the sitting area for him.

"If you're looking for the gentleman who came with you, he left," the secretary pipes up.

"How long ago?"

"About 10 minutes."

Mokuba whips out his cell and speed dials Yami.

'Please don't be far away,' he pleads in his head.

"What gentleman," Kaiba hisses at both the secretary and Mokuba.

'I know he didn't bring that mutt here,' he grumbles to himself.

Just then, Yami answers his phone.

"Hey!" Mokuba calls on his end. "Sorry about earlier. It's resolved now. Where are you?"

Pause.

"Okay, stay there. Actually, come back to the lobby and I'll come get you. See you in a few minutes."

He flips his phone closed and heads back to the elevator.

"Back in a few, Nii-sama," he calls over his shoulder.

"Mokuba! Where are you going? Who were you talking to?"

"It's a secret!" he calls, jumping into the elevator.

Infuriated, Kaiba turns to his secretary.

"What gentleman?" he hisses again.

"Umm, I think it was Mr. Mutou, sir."

Kaiba's eyes flash dangerously. Mokuba wouldn't dare…

He storms back into his office, slamming the door behind him.

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Once outside the Kaiba building, I decided that I didn't want to go back to Jou's just yet. It's a beautiful day, if a bit chilly, and I haven't gotten a chance to see any of the city since I got back. So, randomly picking a direction, I walk slowly, intending to absorb familiar and newer sites and sounds for a few hours.

I've walked about three blocks when my cell rings.

"Hello?"

Pause.

"I'm just a few blocks down the street."

Pause.

"Okay, Mokuba. See you in a few minutes."

He sounds so enthusiastic, but I still down know if this is a good idea. Kaiba was really angry. I don't remember ever seeing him argue with Mokuba like that. Then again, it's been five years; maybe they do that all the time.

No. I don't believe that.

I look up to the Kaiba Corp. building looming at me. Hmm. Maybe I wasn't as far away as I thought.

Stepping into the lobby, I see Mokuba waving at me from the elevator. Taking a calming breath, I head his way, hoping that Kaiba's rage has diminished enough that I won't have to dodge any punches.

What's that phrase again? Hope springs eternal?

Stepping from the elevator again, I smile politely at the secretary, who's now grinning at me instead of staring.

Foregoing a knock, Mokuba throws open Kaiba's office door, dragging me with him, an insanely gleeful smile lighting his face.

"Nii-sama! Look who's back!"

The dark scowl covering Kaiba's face when he looks up is frightening enough for me to take a few steps back toward the door.

"You!" He growls, menacingly. Slowly, he stands, his rage obviously growing as he continues to glare at me. "Get out," he spits.

"Seto…" Mokuba tries weakly. I can see in his face that this outcome isn't what he expected. He must have put a lot more faith in our meeting than I thought.

"Why would you bring him here, Mokuba? You know how I feel about Yugi and his cohorts."

There's that word again.

"I…I thought…I thought you'd be happy to see him, Seto. I know you've missed him," Mokuba replies, suddenly looking every bit like the 12 year old I remember. Not that Kaiba notices. If anything, I think it makes him madder, if that's possible.

"Missed him! Missed him! Why would I miss a spineless traitor like Yugi!" Pause. "Is that where you were last night," he rants. "Is that why you couldn't call? You were with this loser and his loser cohorts!"

Mokuba stands trembling with an emotion I can't place. I think maybe it's time I spoke up.

"I'm not Yugi," I state calmly.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**See the People Standing There**

"I'm not Yugi," that loser states calmly, like I wouldn't recognize him if I saw him. If not the hair then those eyes give him away every time.

I step around my desk and glower at Mokuba.

"I can't believe you brought him here, Mokuba," I grumble.

Turning swiftly to grab Yugi and throw him out, my eyes lock with intense crimson.

Yami.

Swallowing a gasp, I take in his appearance.

He's taller, up to my shoulder at least. His usually light bronze skin has darkened to a warm mocha. With his multi-colored hair and crimson eyes, the effect is striking. Against my will, my eyes travel downward, drinking in the sight of his familiar black leather jacket and pants and his ribbed, cream-colored turtleneck. I easily find myself staring.

"Yami…" I manage after a few moments, my throat suddenly dry.

"It's good to see you too, Kaiba," he replies with a warm smile.

That snaps me out of whatever trance had captured me.

"Good to see me, huh," I sneer. "I'll just bet you are. What, were you hoping I'd turn into some wet mess upon seeing you? Please. As if you or any of your loser friends mean anything to me. As if you ever did! Now, get the hell out of my office!"

"It is good to see you, Kaiba," he continues, tempting fate.

"Out!" I bellow.

"Nii-sama!"

Oh, so he's in on this too.

"You too, Mokuba. Go home. And you're grounded!"

I turn to go back to my desk, having ended this encounter, when Yami grabs my arm.

"Kaiba, wait. Don't take this out on Mokuba. He didn't come home because I made him stay. He was really sleepy and I worried that he'd crash."

"Thank you for your concern," I growl, "But Mokuba can handle his punishments just fine. Now let go before I make you regret ever touching me."

I glare at him again.

"And get out."

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For a moment, I thought things might improve once he realized who I was. After all, we were really good friends once. I hoped we could be again. Right. Springing eternal and all that.

It surprised me a bit when he began staring at me, though I know I look quite different from the last time he saw me. Still, it felt odd to have his eyes on me like that. I wonder what he was thinking.

Speaking of looking a lot different, though he's basically the same physically, I almost didn't recognize him. His spirit has changed. It's beaten, downtrodden and sad. His clear blue eyes are clouded with fatigue and stress; haunted. That arrogant gait shrunk to a salary man's shudder. Even his hair has lost its ever-present gleam. He looks much older than his actual 22 years. What happened to the Seto Kaiba I knew? Frowning, I turn to leave.

Pausing at his office door, I call out over my shoulder, "Why didn't you answer my letters, Kaiba?"

Since I knew I'd probably never see him again after this, I just had to find out.

"What letters," he grumbles.

"I sent you hand written letters for years right here to your office, but you never answered them."

Shocked silence. Then…

"You're lying. I've never seen any letters from you. And even if you did send them, I gave my secretary explicit instructions to shred anything from Yugi and his cohorts."

I'm really sick of that word.

"Cohorts, Kaiba?" I turn, facing him again. "You make it sound like we committed a crime."

"Didn't you?" he hisses. "Isn't that what a traitor is, a criminal?"

I don't respond. I can't really. Because he's right, we did betray him. We all betrayed his trust. He thought we accepted him as he was, but we proved that he wasn't 'good enough' for us by turning our backs. The others turned their backs for good. And though I'd only meant my slight to last a short time, I followed them that day. Of course Kaiba took it as confirmation that I agreed with them. And then the obvious shun with the graduation/engagement party. What else could he think?

"I tried to call you the next morning," I confess, "but you'd blocked me. I couldn't reach you by e-mail, you wouldn't let me in the house, you even had me thrown out when I tried to come here! I couldn't even reach you on Live Journal! I thought if I wrote to you, you'd read my apology and ---"

"Shut up!" he cuts in. "Just shut the hell up, Yami! And get out of my office!" he yells.

"Kaiba…"

"No!" He exclaims, slamming his fist into his desk, "I said GET OUT!"

Stealing a glance at Mokuba, I can tell this entire scene has really shaken him. Unwilling to cause him any further emotional trauma, I decide to withdraw. Pursing my lips, I turn to go.

"Good-bye, Kaiba. I'm sorry," I respond quietly, stepping out the door.

I'm waiting for the elevator when I feel Mokuba beside me.

"I'll take you back to Jou's, Yami."

"You don't have to. I'm sure Kaiba doesn't want you to. I don't want to cause any more problems for you Mokuba."

"Whatever. He's just too stubborn to realize how much he needs you."

The elevator arrives and he steps in.

"Coming?" he calls.

I follow hesitantly.

The ride back to Jou's is very somber.

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"Damn him," Kaiba curses under his breath after Yami and Mokuba have left. Whether he means Yami, Mokuba or both in that curse, he isn't sure. Retreating to the plush couch in the corner after pouring himself something strong, he tries to calm down from the days' already exhausting events.

He'd lied to Mokuba. He didn't stay up half the night he stayed up all night. Worried. Pacing. Chain-smoking. Drinking. But he couldn't tell Mokuba that. His Nii-sama is too strong to succumb to such things over something so minor. He'd just stayed out with friends. It wasn't as if he wasn't ever coming back. At least not yet.

When he arrived at work, he was already exhausted and hung-over. Even after three cups of strong, black coffee he still wasn't up to par when he had to meet with those idiots for two hours.

And then to see Yami…

Gods, how he missed him. It was all he could do not to crush him in his arms right then. But, how could he? Yami had betrayed him. Thinking about it honestly, those other fools were merely tolerated, so when they walked away, it wasn't a great loss. But Yami…

Yami was the only true friend he'd ever had. To be dismissed by him…

So, of course he blocked his phones and refused access to his home and office. Yami made it perfectly clear what he felt when he walked away with the others.

'I meant nothing to him,' he frowns, remembering the painful stab of Yami's rejection.

'And now he shows up like nothing's wrong, fostering some kind of misplaced loyalty in Mokuba, lying about letters that never existed and trying to make me believe he actually cares,' he fumes.

"Shit!" he exclaims, shattering the now empty glass against the wall.

"Mr. Kaiba? Are you alright?" his secretary calls from the open doorway.

So consumed by his emotions, he'd actually forgotten that he's still at work.

"I'm fine, Minako. It's just a broken glass," he mumbles.

"Yes, sir." She doesn't leave the doorway.

"What is it, Minako," he sighs deeply, looking over at her.

"Umm. Well, Mr. Kaiba…I…umm…"

Sliding a hand down his face, he heads for his desk.

"Just spit it out, Minako," he exhales, exasperated. Though highly qualified, and an exceptionally competent secretary, she could be unbearably timid.

"It's about the letters…"

"What letters, Minako?" Gods, why does he put up with this? Oh, right, exceptionally competent.

"The letters from Mr. Mutou, sir."

'What!'

"What are you talking about, Minako?" he glares at her.

He watches as she hesitantly reaches down and pulls a medium-sized box into the doorway.

No. It can't be. Did he really…?

"What's that," he frowns.

"M-Mr. Mutou's letters, sir. I know you said to throw out anything from them, but I just…it didn't seem right. S-so I kept them. And when he showed up today…," she trails off.

Staring at the box, he finds himself at a loss. Minako starts speaking again, not looking at him.

"Umm, I arranged them chronologically, Mr. Kaiba." He can tell she's terrified that he's going to fire her for disobeying orders. "Each year is bundled separately."

She stands there, twitching nervously.

'I guess I should put her out of her misery,' he muses.

"That will be all, Minako," he states evenly. "You can go home now."

"But, sir, it's only 3:15."

"I know. Just go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Y-you're not firing me," she questions incredulously.

He looks up at her, steely-eyed gaze in place.

"Only if you don't leave now. And make sure to lock the elevator on your way out. I don't want to be disturbed!"

"Y-yes, sir," she stutters, almost tripping over the box in her haste to get away.

Leaning back in his chair, he returns his gaze to the box.

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Minako Tanaka held no illusions about working for Seto Kaiba. Though brilliant beyond words and an eloquent speaker, he could be a tyrannical boss. Her four-and-a-half-year tenure as his secretary had many speculating that she must share his bed to have lasted so long. Before her, the longest any secretary had lasted was nine months!

She inherited the box from the prior secretary, Aoi Suzuki, a nice elderly woman who retired and moved in with her grandchildren on Hokkaido.

"_Now, take care of these letters," Miss Aoi had instructed, "and make sure to add any new ones as they come in." _

"_Shouldn't these go to Mr. Kaiba since they're all addressed to him," Minako had asked._

"_No. He's asked that anything from his old high school friends be thrown away."_

"_Then why..?"_

"_Because someday he'll need them," Miss Aoi had concluded._

Minako didn't understand at first, but as the letters kept coming, she realized what Miss Aoi meant; someday, Mr. Kaiba would need those letters to help him remember good times. So, she kept adding to the box until the letters stopped coming last summer.

She didn't know when she should give them to Mr. Kaiba as he didn't seem open to anything non-business related except his little brother; at least not until today. When the crimson-eyed man stepped out of the elevator with Mokuba, she couldn't help but stare. She knew he was the man from the letters. One of the envelopes had torn at some point and a picture had fallen out. She remembers thinking that his hair looked just like that famous duelist from a while back and that he had the oddest eyes.

After Mr. Kaiba's argument with the man, Minako figured it was time to give him the box. Just in case, she'd started backing up her personal files and cleaning out her desk. She was in the middle of forwarding important e-mails to her home address when she heard the crash against the wall. Mr. Kaiba had broken another glass after downing whatever alcohol was in it. Not that this happened very often, but she'd heard it enough to know the sound.

She knew the time had come.

The fact that he didn't fire her on the spot proved, with certainty, that she'd done the right thing all these years.

"Thank you, Miss Aoi," she whispers as she steps into the elevator.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Who Disagree and Never Win**

_12 September_

_Kaiba,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. And I hope you're not still mad at me. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I only meant to show you what an ass you were being to Joey and everyone. (Admit it, you were!) _

_Yugi and I arrived at Tokyo University a few weeks ago. Unpacking was a chore, but we got through it. Yugi's in class right now. I'm taking a few classes myself, though I'm not actually here for a degree. _

_I didn't get a chance to tell you before we left, but I'm going to Egypt next summer for a dig. Jii-chan pulled some strings and I'll be working on a team that's un-earthing the children of a very famous pharaoh._

_No, not me! _

_I haven't told Yugi yet. He's not going to like it._

_Well, I have to go. I'm sorry this letter is so short, but I promise to write you again. Though if you unblocked your phone and e-mail, you'd hear from me more often._

_By for now!_

_Yami_

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_30 October_

_Hey Kaiba!_

_I hope you liked your birthday present. I know it's not much, but starving students and all that. _

Smiling lightly, Seto fingers the Blue-Eyes Ultimate bookmark and continues to read the third letter in that year. Yami goes on to talk about classes and Yugi and missing everyone.

_Even though I 'talk' to them on e-mail every day, it's not the same. _

_Well, I guess I've bored you enough for today. _

_I'll write again soon._

_Yami_

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Seto looks up from the latest letter and realizes it's after 7:00 pm. He'd been so engrossed in reading Yami's letters that he'd lost track of time.

And to think he'd almost thrown them all away. Actually, he'd thrown half of them into the shred box in the hall when something fell out of a bundle of letters from last year; a picture. He'd picked it up and just stared. There stood Yami, decked out in an ancient pharaoh's garb, grinning madly. Seto was certain he'd never seen Yami that happy, not even while dueling. What could have brought such a smile to his face? Curiosity got the best of him and he searched to find which letter it had fallen from. To his dismay, it only said:

_Here's the picture, as promised._

_So when are you going to write to me?_

_Yami_

At that moment, he decided it would be better to just start at the beginning and pulled all of the letters out of the shred box. It took him a little while to put them back in order since, in his haste to toss them, he'd messed everything up.

He'd planned to look over a few letters and then take the rest home for later. Instead he'd read through the entire school year's letters and three-quarters of Yami's first year in Egypt when he finally paused to check the time.

Gathering the scatter of letters on his desk and arranging them in some order, he places several rubber bands around them before writing _Finished Reading_ on the first envelope in the stack. Throwing the stack and the current letter on top of the others in the box, he shuts down and packs up his laptop, throws on his coat and encased laptop and picks up the box, his silver briefcase resting comfortably on the lid.

Riding home in the limo, he continues reading the letter from earlier.

_So we found child number 26 today. Or was it 28. I don't remember. I think my brain is so baked it's starting to ooze out my ears._

Seto laughs aloud at that line.

_Don't get me wrong, I love the warmth, but I'm really not looking forward to two to six more years under this sun._

_I wish Yugi understood why I had to come here. I know Domino is my true home now, but I just needed to see…I don't know. The sand. The sun. Other Egyptians. (Ones that weren't trying to kill me like Bakura or run my life like Isis.) _

Seto smirks at the jibe.

_Though I've only known Japan in my current incarnation, I missed Egypt down in my soul. I missed the desert climate much more than I could explain to Yugi. Or anyone really. I missed speaking the language. Though my version of it is long dead by now, there is still something similar being spoken here. It actually surprised me that I needed to hear my language so badly. I think it took me about two weeks to get the dialect together, but once I did, I talked to anyone I could. It was music to my ears._

_Part of me wants to stay in Egypt permanently because my soul is at peace here. But I'd miss my aibou too much. And Jii-chan. Even you who never answers my letters. I'd miss the others too, but not like I'd miss you three. _

_You know, as much as Yugi and I look alike, I'm still the only one of me. Still the only "former pharaoh, ex-spirit, Shadow Realm master" in all of Japan. In the world really. It's a very lonely existence, Kaiba. But I'm sure you understand, being the only "teenaged, billionaire, CEO who's also raising his little brother" in the world._

_I guess, in a way, we're two peas in a pod._

_Well, this letter has gotten too heavy, so I'll end it here._

_Yami_

Seto finds himself re-reading the last passages and nodding in silent agreement.

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"Nii-sama!"

Seto starts at Mokuba's yell.

"Mmm, what, Mokuba?" he mumbles sleepily, leaning back in his study chair and rubbing his eyes. "What's the matter?"

Mokuba's brow furrows. This wasn't like his brother at all. When he'd come down stairs for a mid-morning snack, the last thing he expected to find was his brother sleeping in his study, sprawled across the desk. And what's all this paper around?

"Seto," he begins quietly, "Are you all right?"

He stands and stretches, responding with a loud yawn, "Of course I am, Mokuba. Why do you ask?"

"Because it's 10:30 am on a Saturday and you're still here."

Shock chases the remaining sleep from his eyes.

"Shit! Why didn't you wake me?" he grumbles heading to the stairs to shower and change.

"You're joking, right? When was the last time I woke up before you?"

"Whatever," he grumbles, taking the stairs three at a time.

He pauses at the top to yell down, "Don't touch anything in my study, Mokuba! In fact, just close the door!"

Mokuba does as he's told. He's never figured out how he does it, but Seto can always tell if anything is even one millimeter off. Heading to the kitchen for his snack, he decides to leave his brother be for now and he'd get the whole story later.

And for Seto to have overslept, it has to be a doozey.

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"Shit!" He curses to himself again as he towels his hair dry.

"I can't believe I overslept! I knew I shouldn't have gone back to reading those letters after I finished working last night," he grumbles to himself.

Quickly pulling a suit and all accessories from his closet and dresser, he's ready in record time. The limo pulls away from the mansion at 10:42 am.

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It's nearly midnight when Seto finally comes in the door. The house is quiet, Mokuba having gone to bed hours earlier, too tired to wait for whatever explanation his brother had for his lapse. He'd find out later.

For his part, Seto grabs a Power Bar from the kitchen while waiting for his tea to get ready before heading back to the study. Slowly sipping the tea and enjoying the warmth spreading throughout his body, he makes sense of the scattered letters. Sometime last night, or early this morning, he'd fallen asleep and sprawled all over the top of his desk. Consequently, the letters he'd sat to the side as having been read as well as the one he'd been reading and the next few on the list now comprised two semi-crumpled piles. It's close to 2 am when he finally organizes everything. By this time, he's made another pot of tea and settled comfortably on the couch, absorbed in the latest letter. For whatever reason, Yami had decided to tell Seto everything happening at the dig site for the past three letters, which Seto finds absolutely fascinating; no doubt because of the pharaoh's affinity for giving detailed, technical explanations. Seto couldn't get enough. His eyes glittered with exuberance at the abundance of information Yami passed on to him. The first two letters covered a period of three weeks and were 15 and 16 pages, respectively. This third letter focuses on the actual discovery of the tomb itself and how long archaeologists had been excavating it.

_While this tomb is utterly unique, it does share many aspects of other late __18th Dynasty__ burials. The tomb was probably not begun by Ramses II, but was taken over by him for his family. Though not proven, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence for this theory that probably rooms, numbered one and two, as well as part of chamber 3, were dug 50 to 100 years prior to the rule of Ramesses II. The history of the tomb has been labeled with five phases, of which the period prior to the reign of Ramesses comprises Phase I. It's believed that there were no burials made in the tomb at that time, and that chamber 3, the 16 pillared hall, might have been much smaller with only 8 pillars prior to the time of Ramesses II.. _

_The first reason given for this theory is the location of the tomb in the middle of tombs KV __62__ (Tutankhamun), __46__ (Yuya/Tjuyu), and 55 (__Akhenaten__?), mostly dating from Egypt's 18th Dynasty. Second, architectural components, consisting of the first two chambers and the dimensions of the doors, all suggesting earlier style. The doorways of 18th Dynasty tombs had never exceeded 200 centimeters, and royal tomb entrances averaged of 150 centimeters. On the other hand, __19th Dynasty__ tomb doors always exceeded 200 centimeters and royal tombs averaged 211 centimeters. The entrance door to KV 5 was only 110 centimeters, even after apparently being widened in the time of Ramesses II by 15 centimeters, as were all the other doors. The two front chambers and 18 pillared hall and the very entrance, deep within the floor of the valley against the base of a moderately slopped hill, are also reminiscent of older tombs, as opposed to the straight lateral series of corridors of 19th Dynasty tombs. The 18 pillared hall has doorways that seemingly lead everywhere. Actually nothing else like it exists on the West Bank, or most likely anywhere else in Egypt. _

_The Tomb is huge. So far that we know, it consists of several entrance halls, including one with sixteen pillars, followed by a series of corridors in the shape of a T. Each of these corridors leads to groupings of sixteen single chambers. Along the first long corridor, there are also suits of rooms. _

Seto is halfway down the page before he finally realizes that the flow and tone of the words aren't Yami's. He'd copied someone's notes word-for-word. Why? Flipping through the rest of the 14 page epic, he realizes that the entire letter is someone's copied notes. What the--? Going back to the box, he retrieves the letters before the detailed dig notes and starts reading them again. He's on the last page of the letter that precedes the first letter of jabber when he finds what he thinks he's looking for…

_Tomorrow night I'm going out with a few of the other students on the dig. Tanya and Corey from America are pretty nice, but I'm not so sure about Pierce. He's the son of some French bureaucrat who thinks he's the most handsome man on the planet. There have been several incidents with the locals and some of the diggers. Some of us also think he's sleeping with Dr. Parson's husband, but no one knows for sure. I've never had any problems with him, but I know he and Corey have fought before. _

_Sorry for the soap opera update. Really, everything's fine here. I guess it all gets a little mundane after a while. Or maybe the sun has baked all of my brain down into ooze._

_That's it for now. I'll write again soon!_

_Yami_

He checks the date on the letter: _12 August_

The next letter, the one where he begins copying some stranger's notes, is dated _28 November_. None of the other letters had that much of a gap in time. Something's wrong with that. Even the opening to that letter is suspicious now that he reads it again.

_Sorry for not writing in so long. I thought you might enjoy hearing about the dig._

That's it. No, 'Hey, Kaiba' like usual.

'And he didn't mention my birthday when he'd hinted in July that he had something nice he really wanted to send me,' he frowns to himself.

Flipping through the next three or four letters after the current one, he finds them all the same, notes about the dig or about Egypt.

"Gods, Yami. What happened to you?" he questions to the air.

Suddenly guilty for not being accessible when Yami obviously needed some help, he starts going through the next series of letters looking for a break in the archeo-babble.

**A/N:** **_Taken from this site: _****_http/ Told ya it was real!_**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**They Don't Get in my Door**

Intertwining his fingers, he glares over them at the pile of letters on his desk. He's read every letter three times; even the archeo-babble filled ones, to no avail.

The last three weeks have seen him sequestered in his study every evening, pouring over the letters as if they held the secrets of the universe.

When Yami began actually writing again, his tone reverted back to that of the original letters, as though there hadn't been an eight-month gap in his conversations.

Maybe if he read them again…Out of order this time. Reaching into the pile, he grabs a random letter and begins skimming it.

_11 July_

_Hey Kaiba!_

_You'll never guess what happened today. _

He tosses that one back. That's the letter where Yami talked about finding kid number 40-something and that it was so hot the gold from the tomb started melting.

'Actually, it was a pretty funny letter', he smirks to himself as he rifles through the pile.

_6 April_

_pg 2_

_What an ass! I finally had to…_

Gods, no! Not that boring thing about how he told off one of the archaeologists because he refused to believe there had ever been a pharaoh during the time Yami had ruled. He smirks to himself again. Yami had ranted on about that for three pages! What an ego!

Pulling out page four of another letter, he starts skimming that one.

_17 November_

_pg 4_

…_should end next month. So, it looks more likely that I'll be back home next summer. Or next fall at the latest. I can't wait. Not that this time hasn't been enlightening and somewhat fun, but I miss home. I miss Jii-chan and Yugi and even your sorry ass who still won't write to me! smile_

He tosses that one back too. That's the letter explaining the picture he found that got him caught up in all of this. The other students thought it would be fun to dress one of the group up in an ancient pharaoh's garb for a few pictures and publicity. Yami drew the short straw.

Seto furrows his brow.

Students. That's the key. Those students he went out with that night. Corey, Pierce and Tanya. He never mentions them in any letters again.

What the hell happened?

Sweeping the letters from his desk in a broad gesture, Seto groans to himself. Why the hell did he care about this anyway? Yami's not even his friend anymore! Shit! He should have gotten rid of those letters when he had the chance.

"Nothing's stopping me now," he murmurs to himself, glancing between the mess on the floor and the fireplace.

A knock on his study door disturbs his deliberation.

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"So, how's your brother?" Yami asks me after we'd talked again about his apartment search now that he'd found a job.

Yami and I have been on the phone almost daily since that day at Seto's office and have met several times for coffee and dinner at Jou and Mai's, but Yami hadn't mentioned my brother once in all that time.

I pause, unsure how to respond, because I have no idea how my brother is. I've never even gotten an answer about that day he overslept. In fact, since then, Seto had begun sequestering himself in his study after dinner. He's been more withdrawn than normal. I've ignored his actions, figuring he'd come around like always, but it's been three weeks and we still haven't spoken more than a few words to each other. Was Seto really that angry with me for bringing Yami to the office?

"Mokuba?" Yami calls into the phone when I don't answer.

"Sorry, Yami. Drifted for a minute. Seto's fine. Well, fine for Seto."

Crap. I didn't mean to say that. I knew Yami understood my 'Mokuba speak' and now knows that Seto is anything but fine. I'd meant to say something like 'We went riding yesterday' or something that he couldn't decipher quite as easily.

"I see. Why don't I talk to you later then so you can talk to him about it."

I knew he'd figure it out.

"Maybe I should," I reply. "I'll call you later."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Flipping my cell closed, I take a breath and exhale slowly, before heading down to Seto's study.

After my second knock, he emerges, closing the door behind him as he silently heads into the living room. I frown at the study door a moment before following.

"I'm sorry," I begin, sitting across from him on the sofa. As expected, he's stretched out in his lounger, twirling an unlit cigarette in his fingers. Thankfully, he still only smokes in the study, though I wish he'd quit altogether.

"Sorry for what?" he murmurs, studying the cigarette instead of looking at me.

"For bringing Yami."

He pauses in his twirling momentarily, still not looking at me.

"Nii-sama, I just thought you'd be glad to see him. I'm sorry if it hurt you."

"It didn't," he murmurs.

"Then why won't you talk to me?"

"Nothing to say," he mumbles.

"Then why won't you look at me," I whisper.

He's silent for a long while, still twirling that cigarette before standing slowly, still not looking at me.

"Good night, Mokuba," he calls over his shoulder, heading upstairs.

I sit there a few minutes before grabbing my keys and heading out for a ride. I need to clear my head.

Two hours later, I pull up at Jou and Mai's. I know it's 2 o'clock in the morning, but I really need to talk to Yami. Instead of knocking on the door and waking up everybody, I call Yami on the cell.

"Mm-hello?" he mumbles sleepily.

"Yami, it's me," I whisper loudly.

"Mokuba?"

"Yeah. Sorry it's so late…um…early, but can you come out for coffee? I need to talk."

"Sure," he yawns. "When should I be ready?"

"Now. I'm out front."

I hear him scramble out of bed. Moments later I'm waving sheepishly at him peeking at me through the front window. He opens the door and I rush in, glad to be in the warm house instead of out in the crisp November air.

"Have a seat and I'll be out in a minute," he whispers rushing back to his room.

We wind up at an all-night coffee house in the clubbing district.

Around 7:30 am I find myself crawling into Yami's bed, having barely made it back to Jou's house even after four cups of coffee.

"Mokuba, don't forget to call your brother," I hear Yami prodding as sleep begins to claim me.

"'Kay," I mumble pulling out my phone. "Call Nii-sama," I yawn into the phone.

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"Call Nii-sama," he yawns before dropping the phone onto the smooth carpet and lapsing into a light snore. Great. I guess I'll have to tell Seto myself and I'm sure I'm the last person he wants to speak to.

I pick up the cell and wait.

"Kaiba," he barks after the third ring.

I pause.

"Mokuba?" He calls into the phone. "What do you want? I have a meeting in 15 minutes. And where the hell are you?"

"Sorry, Kaiba. He's asleep," I state calmly. "He passed out after he called and I didn't want you to worry like last time."

Silence.

"Kaiba?"

More silence.

"Well, sorry to disturb you. I just wanted you to know that Mokuba's okay. I'll wake him in a few hours and send him home. Good-bye."

"Yami," he cuts in before I hang up.

"Yes?"

"What happened to you, Yami?"

I pause, not understanding the question.

"Happened to me?"

"In Egypt."

"That's kind of a broad question," I scoff.

Silence.

"Kaiba?"

"I have to go to a meeting," he grumbles, and then hangs up abruptly.

Well. That was…different.

Deciding that, for now, Kaiba's issues are his own until I get some sleep, I pull off Mokuba's jacket and cover him up with the sheet and blanket before throwing off my pants and crawling into the other side of the large bed. I'll be able to think clearer about all he and I talked about in a few hours.

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_9:20 am_

The bedroom door opens and Jou just stares at the scene before him. Mokuba lies sprawled on one side of Yami's bed with Yami curled up under the covers on the other side.

"Well, I guess we're not apartment hunting this morning," he mumbles under his breath, closing the door and heading back to Yugi in the living room.

"Yami's _still_ asleep?" Yugi questions with a laugh.

"Yeah," Jou chuckles, scratching his head sheepishly.

Yugi recognizes the nervous habit for what it is.

"What?" He asks Jou seriously.

"Nothing really. It's just…" he trails off.

"What!"

"It's probably nothing…"

"Okay, Jou. What's wrong?"

"He just seems to spend a lot of time with him."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"Mokuba."

"What about him?" Jou's got him really confused now.

"He's here. With Yami."

The color drains from his face. Jou can't mean…

"What do you mean, 'with Yami'?"

"See for yourself," Jou gestures toward the bedrooms and watches Yugi head in that direction.

He hopes he's wrong about the whole thing, but Mokuba _has_ been over a lot. And he and Yami _have _been spending a lot of time together. Maybe it's nothing, but he doubts Kaiba would see it that way. And he _is_ a kid. Which is why Jou's sure he's just overreacting. Yami would never...

Back in the room, Mokuba had gotten cold and burrowed under the covers, pulling the blanket from Yami's shoulders and back as he rolled away. Yugi looks in just as Yami is groggily unraveling Mokuba to retrieve part of the blanket and mumbling, "Stop hogging the covers." Though he can't see anything but the top of Mokuba's hair, he _does _catch a glimpse of Yami's bare leg.

Yugi comes back into the living room, a light flush to his cheeks. He frowns.

"What?" Jou questions, eyes wide.

"I think we need to talk to Yami," Yugi replies grimly.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**In the Colourful Way**

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Yami's laughter rings throughout the house and I feel very foolish.

"Jou's the one who said it first," I protest, pointing at him defensively.

"Hey! I said I wasn't sure," Jou retorts, obviously feeling as foolish as I do.

Especially since Yami is now doubled over on the floor with laughter. It's really not that funny!

"We just wanted to be sure," I mumble.

Eventually Yami calms down, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes as he climbs from the floor to the couch, clutching his sides in pain. Serves him right for laughing at us.

"S-sorry, aibou," he gasps. "I know you mean well and all, but Mokuba? Gods, why would you think I'd even…He's just a kid!"

"I know," I mumble. "That's why we were worried."

"Oh? You weren't worried about it being a _him_ and not a _her_?" he smirks.

I don't respond right away. I've known about Yami's preference for a while now, but did Jou?

"Well," Jou begins, scratching his head sheepishly, "We kinda worried about that too. Right, Yug?"

"Umm…"

Yami's smile vanishes. Jou frowns at me.

"How long have you known," Yami questions seriously.

I look him in the eyes.

"Since I saw you and Taki in the art room."

Yami's eyes widen and he turns away blushing.

"I take it Taki's a guy," Jou interjects.

"Mmm hmm," I respond, hoping Yami's okay with us knowing.

"And I don't want to know what they were doing in the art room, do I?"

"No."

"Why didn't you say anything," Yami whispers, still turned away from me.

I shrug.

"I figured you'd get around to telling me sooner or later."

A tense silence settles in the air until Jou breaks it with a hasty, "Uhh…I'll go make us some tea and then we can plan where we're going for our apartment hunt today."

Jou heads into the kitchen and I continue to watch Yami, wondering what he's thinking.

He finally turns back to me with a sigh.

"So, I guess it isn't a problem for you," he concludes.

"Only if you're hoping for some action," I smirk.

"Eww, no. That would be like doing my brother," he laughs.

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After going home from Jou's to shower and change, I hop back on my bike and head to Seto's office.

Just once, I'd like him to come to me when we have issues to resolve instead of always having to go to him. But I know that'll never happen because in Seto's world, there are no issues. If there's a problem and it's not life threatening (or Kaiba Corp. threatening, same thing) then he ignores it until it goes away.

I know he's also trying to back me off so he can get used to my not being around when I go to college. Though I'm going away soon, I'm not gone yet. And I won't be ignored.

Using my access card, I park in my space next to Nii-sama's in the Kaiba Corp. garage and head up to his office. I already checked with Minako, so I know his afternoon is free. I wave to her as I step from the elevator and she smiles brightly.

Man, if I were a few years older…

I enter Nii-sama's office without knocking to find him sitting on the couch in the corner, sipping a tall glass of something, probably alcoholic, and staring at a box of scattered paper.

"Nii-sama?"

He doesn't look up.

"This is the fifth day of school you've missed in the past three weeks. Care to explain?"

"I…umm…I don't…umm…I don't have one," I sputter. He definitely caught me off guard. I didn't think he'd been paying attention to anything I did lately.

His eyes lock with mine. They're cold, hard. I haven't seen them like that in a long time.

"Maybe if you spent less time with Yami, you'd remember to go to school and wouldn't need explanations," he sneers.

I frown at him.

"Are you trying to tell me who I can have as my friend, Nii-sama?"

"He's obviously a bad influence, Mokuba. I don't want you around him."

Wow. Seeing Yami must have really shaken him. He's _never_ tried to influence my choice of friends. He didn't even tell me to stop hanging with the Yugi-tachi and he honestly hated them!

I sit down in the chair opposite him.

"What's happened, Nii-sama?"

"Nothing's happened. I just don't want you around him anymore. I won't have you missing school just to spend time with him," he glowers.

I pause, studying his face for any hints. He looks away, back at the box of paper. Hmm. Something in that box must be what's bugging him. I grab the box and pull it to me.

"What's this, Nii-sama?"

He snatches it back so fiercely it scares me.

"None of your business!" He bellows. "Now go home! And stay away from Yami!"

He downs the last of the liquid in the glass and bellows for Minako.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" she bows as she appears in the doorway.

"My brother is leaving. Have a car take him home."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

She scurries away.

"I'm not leaving, Nii-sama," I spit, now angry myself. I will not be dismissed like one of his employees or sent to my room like the 12 year old I once was. We're going to talk this out now!

"Yes you are," he growls.

I stand and close the door before calling Minako on the intercom to let her know to cancel the car.

"I'm not," I state confidently from his desk.

I can see the rage building in his eyes at my defiance, but I won't be put off again. Whatever is going on with him has to be resolved now or he's going to lose it in a meeting or at a presentation.

Instead of confronting me, he pours himself another drink, retreating back to the sofa. If I needed any more proof that something is very wrong, I just got it. Nii-sama having more than one drink during office hours? Running from an argument? Losing it over a box of paper?

Whatever it is, it's big.

I return to my place in the chair.

"What is that, anyway?" I nod in the direction of the box that's now tucked tightly between the sofa and the end table.

"Yami's letters," he mumbles into the already half empty glass.

"What?" He can't mean… "But, how?"

"My secretaries conspired against me," he smirks, emptying the glass and reaching to pour another.

I frown. He's starting to scare me now.

"Nii-sama, maybe you shouldn't drink anymore."

He pauses before downing the little he'd already poured then putting the bottle and glass on the table and leaning back on the couch.

"You're right," he sighs, draping an arm across his eyes. "I need to keep a level head in case any of those idiots under my employ need me to do their job for them. Again."

I can't help the smirk that curls my lips.

"I don't know what to do, Mokie," he sighs, startling me.

"About what," I prod lightly. I knew he needed to talk.

"Yami."

I pause.

"What did his letters say?"

"That he was sorry. That he missed me. That he was still my friend."

"But that's good, right?"

He sighs again.

"I hated him for a long time, Mokuba."

"Do you still?"

"I don't know."

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And that's the problem. He doesn't know how to forgive Yami for walking out on him, even briefly.

"Shit!" He swears under his breath. This would have been so much easier if he hadn't read those letters. He'd accepted the loss of his friend. He'd accepted that no one cared about him but Mokuba. He'd accepted that soon even Mokuba wouldn't be around to care. And now…with those letters…

He'd lied to Mokuba about what the letters said. Well, not lied exactly. Because Yami's words were just as Seto reported. But the feelings between the words…

And that lost time…

What the hell happened? He had to know. But since the letters didn't say, the only way to find out would be to ask Yami. Ask the only friend he ever had. Ask the person who'd deserted him at the drop of a hat.

The traitor. Who, it turns out, wasn't really a traitor. But he's hated him for so long…

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba's voice cuts into his musings. He supposes he's been quiet a long time. Glancing at his watch he sees that it's nearly five o'clock. Maybe he should just go home. He's not going to get anything else done today.

'I'll have a limo take us for food and then home,' he decides, stumbling a little from the alcohol as he goes to call Minako on the intercom.

"Minako."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" she chirps. Gods he hates that she does that. Why doesn't he fire her again? Oh, right. Exceptional competence. Not to mention brave enough to defy him and stand up for her beliefs.

"Make reservations for my brother and I at that restaurant on the pier for 6:00 pm."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

"And tell the driver we'll be down in ten minutes."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

"And send a security detail and a truck to get Mokuba's bike from the garage and bring it to the mansion."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

He turns back to his brother who's looking very relieved. He smiles a real smile at Mokuba and opens his arms. In that one embrace, all is forgiven. Pulling away after a few minutes, Mokuba packs up and shoulders Seto's laptop and heads out. Seto puts on his suit jacket and trench coat, and then grabs his briefcase and the box of letters, before following Mokuba to the car.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**There I Will Go**

I really enjoyed our week with Jii-chan. Four years is a long time not to have seen him when I'd been used to seeing him everyday. I guess if I count the time at college with Yugi, it was really five years. Now that I'm back in Japan I'll get to see him more often, even if it is now a four hour drive one-way to his house. Of course, it'll have to be after he comes back from Hawaii. Yugi's flying back Sunday and Jii-chan will be flying there the week after next to stay for two months. Both he and Yugi are ecstatic about it.

I don't know what I'll do once Yugi goes back to Hawaii. I mean Jou and Mai and the others are my friends, but Yugi…I'll be without my aibou again.

Too bad Kaiba isn't speaking to me anymore. I missed him almost as much as my aibou, but he doesn't know that since he never got my letters. Maybe I should try talking to him again. I could get Mokuba to let me into his office. And maybe if he's not already angry like last time, he'll listen to me.

Or maybe I should just go by the house. It's less public and he might be more at ease there. And I doubt Mokuba would back down from any staff who tried to throw me out. Then I could tell Kaiba how much I missed him. And I can tell him all the stuff that happened in Egypt since he asked.

I frown to myself. Why did he ask? Did he really want to know? And what did he mean by 'happened to me'? Maybe the house is a bad idea too. After all, it is his refuge from the rest of the world. He might not want me in there disrupting his space. Maybe we could meet in a neutral location, a park or something.

Humph. It's the dead of winter, or almost the dead of winter. What a stupid idea, a park

Maybe I should just drop it altogether. It's obviously an exercise in futility. I know Kaiba. Once he's made up his mind about something, come Hell or high water, he won't change it. I just have to accept that I'm the enemy now.

But damn it! I don't want to!

My alarm beeping startles me. Have I been awake all night? I guess so since the clock is flashing 6:00 am at me. Well, I guess I should get up.

Turning off the annoying alarm, I shower and dress, heading off to work. It's a temporary thing until I start working at the museum. With only a high school diploma I obviously can't qualify as a curator or anything like that, but with my dig experience and recommendations from several prominent archeologists, I was able to land a job working as an assistant in restoration. The only problem is that the job doesn't open until January. Still, that does give me time to get all of my credentials and personal items in from Egypt, so I shouldn't complain.

Now I just need a place to live. Jou and Mai don't mind my presence at all, but living with them is really starting to get to me. They're not the most modest people in the world and hearing them make love almost every night only serves to remind me how lonely I am. I'm a little tired of dating Rosy Palm. Humph. It's too bad that I couldn't convince Pierce…

No, I don't want to think about him…or about any of them. I don't want to think about what happened. I start watching the buildings go by through the train window to distract myself from the memories, but it doesn't work. I still see their lifeless faces. Still see the shock in Pierce's green eyes. Still see the blood….

Finally my stop comes up and I jump from the train, heading to the health food store downtown where I work as a cashier and stock clerk. It's a lot of physical labor, but I don't mind because it keeps me in shape. I admit to vanity and pride about my washboard abs. The work also keeps me warm in these temperatures that are now frigid for me. Four years of sun spoiled me.

At the end of my day, I go back to Jou's long enough to shower and change before heading out for a bite. Not that Mai's cooking isn't fantastic, it is, I just need some time to myself.

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"Yami!"

He looks up and smiles, then looks apprehensive. I wonder about the change in his demeanor until I remember that Nii-sama is right behind me. Oops! Maybe I should have just kept going when I saw him from the sidewalk instead of coming in to say hello and maybe share a bowl of noodles. (This place makes great Udon!)

Oh well, too late now.

I invite myself to sit with him at the four top table, hoping Nii-sama will just sit and relax and not make a scene.

He slides into the chair beside me.

"Yami," he nods politely.

"Kaiba," Yami replies in that same tone.

Well, it's a start.

Nii-sama and I had been talking about the letters for the last few weeks, me insisting he tell Yami and him insisting that I mind my own business. I'd like to think I'm making some progress, but…

"So, Yami, any luck with finding a place yet," I throw out, breaking the short, awkward silence left after their greeting.

"Not yet, as you can see." He shows me some of the listings he's circled in the paper he has with him.

We're going over the listings and discussing the various neighborhoods represented when Nii-sama shocks us.

"I know of a place," he inserts. "But it needs some work."

Both of us stare at him wide-eyed for a moment before I pipe up with. "Really, Nii-sama? Where? What's it like?"

He goes on to tell us about the large two-bedroom over top of a dojo. Going by the information Nii-sama gives about its location, it sits near one of the properties we have circled and starred within walking distance to the museum. The property has been vacant almost a year because the family members of the deceased owner were fighting over his estate. The owner was Minako's great-uncle and she'd mentioned its being left to her and how she needed to get rid of the property during a lunchtime ramble sometime last week. It sounded like a great idea, but Yami was frowning.

"I can't afford to buy anything," he sighs. "But thanks anyway."

My brother scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"Look, Yami," he begins sternly, leaning forward, "You won't have to buy it. I'll just convince Minako that's it's a much more logical idea to keep the property and rent it out, which it is, and if you don't mind a little hard work, you can do some of the clean up yourself, saving her a bundle, and have an equivalent amount knocked off your rent."

Yami nods in agreement. Then a miracle occurs…

They start having a conversation. I can't help but grin as my brother pulls out a pen, flips a placemat and starts sketching out ideas with Yami and planning when they could go see the space together and finalize the layout.

"Come to the office tomorrow and we can go over this with Minako," Nii-sama insists.

"I can't. I have to work tomorrow. But I'm off Friday."

"Friday then. I'll make sure Minako brings the key so we can view the space," he concludes.

"Okay."

Suddenly, there's an awkward pause and I wonder if they're about to lapse back into uncomfortable silence until Nii-sama speaks up.

"So, Yami," he begins calmly, "have you already eaten? Mokuba and I were on our way to a place near here for dinner. You're welcome to join us."

Shock. What the--? That's it! I give up trying to understand him.

"S-sure," Yami stutters.

"Let's go, then," he commands, standing, "I'm starving."

Closing his coat and wrapping his scarf back around his neck, he heads for the door. Yami and I stare after him a moment before Yami puts on his coat, hat, gloves and scarf and I close my coat re-wrapping my scarf and follow him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What the hell is wrong with me? Helping Yami find an apartment, offering to help him fix it up, inviting him to dinner…

Have I lost my mind? He's my enemy! A traitor!

Sort of.

Do I want to know what happened to him this much?

Maybe I just miss him.

Miss him? I have lost my mind.

I glance over my shoulder at him and Mokuba chatting amiably behind me. Maybe I can tell him I changed my mind and want to eat with Mokuba alone. I have a reputation as a bastard, so why not?

I sigh dejectedly with the understanding that Mokuba would never forgive me, and then I'd have to listen to him prattle on about it forever.

What about Friday and the apartment? No, I really can't back out of that either since I was the one who brought it up. Shit! I guess I'm stuck.

"Nii-sama," Mokuba calls, "Where are you going? You passed the restaurant."

I don't respond, merely turn around and follow them in the door.

Dinner is surprisingly comfortable after I successfully quell the urge to escape. I call the limo when we're done to drive us all home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Releasing Mokuba after a brief hug, I wave to him and Kaiba before the car door closes and they speed away. I can't believe how much I enjoyed dinner. And to think _Kaiba_ actually _invited_ me! And what's the deal with him helping me with the apartment? Several weeks ago, I would never have thought any of this possible. Now…I still can't believe it's possible. My head hurts. I'll think about this more in the morning.

I open the front door and am immediately accosted by Jou and Mai. And they don't look happy.

"Man, Yami," Jou begins scowling, "I know that wasn't Kaiba in that limo with you."

I am taken aback by his stance and tone. And angered by his unspoken assertion that he has some say over my choice of friends. Not that Kaiba and I are friends, exactly, but it's the principle.

"And what if it was," I frown at him, kicking off my shoes.

"It's just that we all agreed not to have anything more to do with him and—"

"_You_ agreed," I cut in angrily. "I was never part of that pact."

"Yami," Mai interjects. "We don't mind Mokuba, but Kaiba isn't welcome in our home."

"And if I associate with him, I'm not welcome either?"

A beat.

"We just want him to stay out of our lives, Yami," Jou inserts into the tense moment.

"I see."

Silence.

"Well, good night then," I force, keeping my temper in check. "I'll be out by the end of the week."

"Yami, you don't have to leave," Mai calls to my retreating back.

I pause.

"I think it's best if I do," I reply sadly, not turning around. "Good night."

It takes all of my will power not to slam the bedroom door behind me.

How dare they! I am not beholden to their every whim simply because they allowed me to stay here! I will not have my life dictated by them! Throwing off my jacket, I stomp around the room cursing under my breath for a few minutes. It doesn't help.

I find myself dialing Mokuba's cell.

"Hey, Yami!" he calls cheerfully into the phone after the second ring.

"Mokuba, is it too cold to go for a ride?" I exhale.

"It's never too cold to ride, Yami. Not for me. You, on the other hand, might turn into a Popsicle. What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it now. You think your brother would mind if you borrowed the limo?"

"As long as I'm in school tomorrow, no. I'll pick you up in about 20 minutes."

"No. I'll call you in ten minutes from a different location and you can pick me up there."

"Okay. Are you alright, Yami?"

"We'll talk later."

"Sure."

I hang up and grab my jacket.

After slipping on my shoes at the front door, I throw on my coat, hat, scarf and gloves and head out. I need to be anywhere but that house tonight. Maybe I'll stay with Yugi. No, he shares Jou and Mai's view and would side with them as soon as I explained why I was there. And I _really _couldn't take fighting with him about this. Maybe I could stay at a hotel close to work. Yeah. That'll work. I'll get Mokuba to give me a ride.

Having decided my course of action for the evening following my planned conversation with Mokuba, I call him from a corner five blocks away from Jou and Mai's and tell him where I am. By the time the limo pulls up 15 minutes later, my fingers, ears and toes have gone numb.

"Oh, m-man, it's c-cold," I stutter as I climb in, teeth chattering.

"This will warm you up," Kaiba insists, handing me a snifter of what assume is brandy.

After pulling off my gloves, I take the glass hesitantly.

"Th-thanks," I chatter.

"You're welcome," he replies lightly, turning to pour one for himself.

I glance at Mokuba for an explanation. He merely shrugs. I take a sip of the brandy and find that Kaiba was right; it is warming me up.

"I'm here," Kaiba begins as though I'd actually asked the question out loud, "to make sure Mokuba comes home tonight. He has a bad habit of staying out all night when he goes anywhere with you." He narrows his eyes at us. We fidget guiltily.

"I realize you may want to talk to Mokuba privately, Yami, so to ensure that both of us get what we want, I will allow you into my house. You can use any room on the first floor but my study."

Our jaws drop.

"Th-thank you, Nii-sama," Mokuba gasps.

I'm shocked speechless.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**If I'm Wrong I'm Right**

As we pull up to the mansion, I find myself so nervous I'm shaking, though not enough for Kaiba and Mokuba to notice.

What the hell am I doing here? I just needed to get out of that house and talk to Mokuba about nonsense for a while. Maybe I would have told him what happened, maybe not. But now that choice isn't even mine to make. I _can't_ tell him here. Not with Kaiba in the house. If Mokuba and I were alone somewhere, then I could chance getting a little out of control, but not here with Kaiba watching. It would just give him something to pick at me with later.

We step into the foyer and Mokuba and Kaiba kick off their shoes and hang up their coats, Kaiba reiterating that Mokuba will go to school tomorrow regardless of how late he stays up.

This is _such_ a bad idea. I need to leave _now_.

"Yami?" Mokuba calls to me. I look up to his worried face and at Kaiba's curious one.

"I…uhh…that is umm…Thanks for the invite, Kaiba, but I umm…I think I need to go back to Jou and Mai's now," I mutter.

Kaiba raises an eyebrow at me and Mokuba's worried frown deepens.

"Yami, what's going on?" He prods.

I turn away, trembling with more than cold. I can't believe I told them I'd be out by the end of the week. I don't have any place to go. I wish I could say I knew I could go to the place Kaiba suggested, but that was the farthest thing from my mind at the time. I just knew I needed to move out of there as soon as possible. But where the hell will I go?

And how could I continue being their friend after this? They practically forbade me to have anything to do with Kaiba, and that they wouldn't tolerate my presence if I did! That's what Mai meant, even though Jou tried to soften the blow. And that look Jou gave when he first confronted me, like my association with Kaiba made me lower than dirt! They both made their feelings perfectly clear. My offering to leave saved them the trouble of throwing me out. I wonder if they even wanted me there in the first place?

And what will I tell Yugi? He'll still be here. He'll want to know why I moved out. And when I tell him, I'll…I'll lose him too.

Suddenly, I can't breathe.

I don't realize I've dropped to my knees until I feel Mokuba helping me up.

The next thing I know I'm sitting on one of the couches in the living room shakily sipping a small glass of water thrust into my hands by Kaiba as Mokuba lightly rubs my back.

"Yami, what happened," Mokuba whispers as I finish the water and Kaiba takes the glass from my still trembling fingers.

I exhale shakily and shake my head, indicating my unwillingness to talk about it.

"Is it something that happened in Egypt," Kaiba inquires almost affectionately. That's the second time he's mentioned Egypt out of the blue. Why does he keep asking me…?

My head snaps up and I lock eyes with him.

"You did read them," I state calmly.

His eyes widen a moment before he looks away. He read them, but he didn't answer me. He didn't care. I thought the babble would make him ask…but he just didn't care.

I stand slowly, intending to leave right away. I'll go back to Jou and Mai's, pack a few things for the night and head to that hotel. Tomorrow I'll find a cheap motel to stay at for a while and look for something more permanent once my job at the museum starts. I won't trouble Kaiba about the apartment. He's made his feelings pretty clear as well. At first I thought he actually cared and wanted to help me, but I guess he'll do just about anything to keep Mokuba happy, even fraternizing with an enemy.

"Yami, wait! Where are you going?" Mokuba calls, following me to the door.

"I don't know yet," I answer honestly.

"Yami, it's nearly 1 am. Why don't you just stay here for the night? I'll give you a ride to work in the morning," Mokuba insists.

"I wouldn't want you to be late for school," I mumble. "Besides, I'm sure your brother wouldn't want that."

"I don't mind," Kaiba pipes up. He's just full of surprises.

"I don't want to impose," I mumble, not turning to face either of them.

"Yami, you're not imposing," Mokuba soothes. "Just think of it as payback for all the days I stayed at your house."

That's it. Bring me back to square one.

"I don't have a house, Mokuba," I reply sadly, opening the door.

"Did they throw you out," Mokuba gasps incredulously.

"I offered to leave."

"What! Why? What happened?"

"Your brother happened," I whisper.

A tense silence falls behind me. I take the opportunity to exit quickly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I stand there looking at the door for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. I can't believe Jou and Mai would…I mean, he's been their friend for years! How could they throw that all away because he spent a few hours eating dinner with Nii-sama and me? Are they completely crazy?

There's got to be something I can do for Yami. He's my best friend, next to Seto.

Crap! I don't even know when he's moving out! Does he even have anywhere to go? Maybe Nii-sama and I can get Minako's apartment ready for him and move him in there. But that's bound to take a few weeks, what will he do until then? Maybe they'll let him stay until the end of the month.

I still can't believe they'd be so foolish! And what's Yugi gonna think about them throwing out the other half of his soul?

I pause when a terrible thought hits me. Or rather, when I remember something important; Yugi hates Nii-sama too. Would he back Yami on this or would he side with Jou and Mai like he's been doing for the past five years? He'd be choosing between his other half and his best friend. I don't envy him in that situation. Especially since he's only had Yami back for a month or so after being apart from him for four years. Maybe he would back Yami, just to keep him close. I know how hard it was on Yugi to have Yami away for so long. He talked about it constantly in e-mails and when we'd talk on the phone. He couldn't give him up just like that.

Then again, knowing Yami, he wouldn't even let Yugi make a choice like that. He'd step back or out of his life if he thought it better for Yugi. He can be so selfless. Like with me. I know it's been hard on him to spend time with me after what happened with Nii-sama at his office, but he's such a great friend, he dealt with it anyway.

I have to figure out a way to repay him for all of the support he's given me and for staying my friend even after all those years apart. I'll fix up the apartment myself if Nii-sama won't help. And until then, maybe I can convince him to stay here for a few weeks. And maybe while he's here Nii-sama can come clean about those letters.

Realizing that I never heard him walk away, I turn from the door, planning to go see where my brother has gone. His scowling face not ten feet away startles me.

"N-Nii-sama?" I stutter, worriedly. I don't remember ever seeing him this angry. I can almost feel the rage rolling off him as he stands there, fists clenched, jaws tight.

"Nii-sama?" I try again.

"Those assholes!" He finally grinds out. A moment later, he is past me, putting on his shoes and throwing on his coat.

"Where are you going?" I question in a slight panic. I know he's much too angry to be around anyone right now. Or drive a car. Or touch a computer. Part of me wants to latch onto his arm and stop him, but the fury in his eyes makes me think even that would be futile.

"Nii-sama, where are you going?" I repeat as he opens the door.

"Out," he snaps. "I'll be gone for a few hours. Don't wait up."

I follow him out, not caring that the ground is cold on my sock-clad feet.

"Out where? It's after 1 in the morning! Nii-sama!"

He ignores me and heads for the garage. Well, at least I know he's driving, not that it's any consolation since there's the greater chance he'll try to mow down a few pedestrians in this state. Deciding I'll have a better chance of talking sense into him with shoes and a coat on so my teeth won't be chattering, I run back into the house. Swiftly throwing on my boots, coat and hat and grabbing my house keys, I run out the door just in time to see his Cayenne pulling out of the gate.

Great!

Rushing into the garage, I hop on my bullet. The keys are already in the ignition where I usually leave them since I ride so often. Tossing my hat in a corner and pulling on my helmet, I turn on my machine and head out after him. He shouldn't be too far away and he'll be pretty easy to spot with those 'KAIBA 5' license plates.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That was really stupid of me. I should have just stayed there and not come out in this cold. Or at least gotten a ride. Especially considering how far I'll be walking. I mean, its not like Kaiba lives near anything or anybody. I had to wander around a bit before I even figured out which way I should be going! Now I've been walking about 20 minutes and I still don't know how long it will take me to get there since I can't walk very fast in this cold. I don't even know how far away I am from Jou and Mai's, let alone how long it'll take me to get there!

I should have stayed in Egypt.

Suddenly, a sleek, black SUV pulls up on the sidewalk in front of me. The passenger door opens to reveal a scowling Kaiba.

"Get in," he orders. As my fingers, ears and feet have become blocks of ice, I obey his summons just to warm up.

**A/N**: The Cayenne is a 4DR, all wheel drive SUV by Porsche. Kaiba owns the V8 Turbo.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Silly People Run Around**

A pounding in my head wakes me up. I'm still in the SUV. When did I fall asleep? And where are we? Groggily I rub my eyes as I sit up from the reclined passenger seat, a light blanket I hadn't noticed before slipping off of me. Peering out the front window, I see Kaiba pounding on someone's front door and I instantly know where we are, Jou and Mai's.

I scramble out of the SUV, nearly taking a header onto the concrete in my haste to stop him.

"Get back in the truck, Yami," he growls. "I'll take care of this."

"What? What do you mean? Kaiba!"

He goes back to pounding on the door. I'm a step away from him when the door swings open, revealing an enraged Jou.

"What the fuck do you want, Kaiba?" he spits. He catches me out of the corner of his eye and smirks evilly.

"So that's how it is, Yami," he sneers. "After all these years, you're still Kaiba's lap dog. I guess our friendship meant nothing."

I'm frozen to the spot. Unable to confirm or deny anything. Unable to look at either of them.

"Why, Yami?" I hear Mai question from behind Jou. I don't answer and keep my eyes on the ground where they fell after Jou's accusation.

"Why?" I hear Kaiba snarl. The tone in his voice worries me, forcing me to look up. "_You_ should be telling _him_ why after all these years as his friend you'd throw him out because of one fucking dinner!"

"She wasn't talkin' to you, Kaiba!" Jou yells stepping into Kaiba's personal space.

A dangerous smile forms on his lips. "Well, I'm answering," Kaiba glares down at him. "So what are you gonna do about it…Mutt?"

As fast as Jou swings, Kaiba sees it coming and counters with a block and then a solid punch to his chest. Jou stumbles a moment before launching himself onto Kaiba with a yell. They fall back through the bushes onto the sidewalk and really begin fighting. After a few minutes it becomes obvious that Jou is completely out-matched, not that such knowledge stops their brawl. Mai and I stand dumbfounded.

Out of the corners of my eyes, I catch a few of the neighbors stepping out to see what's happening. In this very quiet neighborhood, I'm sure the sound of two guys beating the crap out of each other and yelling obscenities in the middle of the night is quite the novelty.

And a complete shock.

I'm not surprised to hear sirens in the distance a few minutes later. Not that they'll be necessary to break things up, as Kaiba has effectively 'wiped the floor' with Jou. He's standing over Jou's unconscious form panting heavily, blood running from a busted lip and a head laceration when the authorities and an ambulance arrive. Mai kneels somberly with her husband, cradling his head in her lap.

The police don't hesitate to cuff Kaiba, obviously not recognizing the disheveled CEO. His hair is all over his head with blood, dirt and bruises on his face and hands, clothes and coat ripped and dirty, rage still in control of his shaking and panting form. No, there's nothing resembling the cool, arrogant, immaculate Seto Kaiba known to the world.

I can't imagine what this is going to do to his reputation.

"Gun!" I hear an officer call from the front seat of the SUV. Kaiba had a gun? Shit. This is going to be so much worse than I thought. Mokuba's going to lose it.

Mokuba! I completely forgot about him. Whipping out my phone, I dial him frantically. His cell rings five times before I'm dumped into his voicemail. Fantastic. What do I do now?

"You," one of the officers calls to me, "Can you tell me what happened here?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This is ridiculous. I've been riding around for almost an hour and can't find any trace of him. How could he have gotten away so fast?

My cell vibrates on my hip, but as I'm currently speeding down the road, I can't answer it. It's probably Yami. I'll call him in a few minutes from the house. Maybe Nii-sama changed his mind about whatever he was going to do and went back home.

After kicking off my shoes, hanging my coat and grabbing a much-needed cup of coffee, I dial Yami back.

"Mokuba!" He answers frantically.

"Yami? What's wrong? Where are you?"

A long pause.

"Yami?"

"Mokuba, are you sitting down?" he breathes. I panic, plopping my mug on the counter and dropping into one of the chairs around the kitchen table.

"W-What's happened?" I stutter. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the Fifth district police station. With Kaiba," he replies soberly.

Police station? With Nii-sama? What the…?

"What are you talking about, Yami? Why would Nii-sama be at the police station?"

"Because he just beat the crap out of Jou."

"WHAT! You can't be serious! Why would he be at Jou's house anyway?"

Another long pause.

"Yami!" I call loudly into the phone.

He whispers something too low for me to hear.

"What? I can't hear you."

"Because of me," he repeats louder. "He was there because of me."

It all makes sense now. That's where he was going, to find Yami, pack him up and bring him here. That would have been the honorable thing for him to do in his mind since his presence is what cost Yami his temporary home in the first place. But he was much too angry to have done that tonight. I'm sure the mere site of Jou and Mai set him off. Nii-sama you idiot. If I had come with you, none of this would have happened.

"Mokuba?" Yami calls through the phone.

"I'll be there in a little while, Yami. And I'll contact our lawyer."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes.

"It's not your fault. My brother is just too stubborn to realize when he should back off or ask for help. This will all be fixed so don't worry. I'll see you soon."

"Sure. Bye."

"Bye."

I call the lawyer and tell him where to meet us as I head back out, this time opting to take the Targa and stay warm.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I hang up the phone and look back at Kaiba in the cell. He's sitting with one foot up on the bench, elbow on his knee, and chin in his clenched hand, eyes distant. His lip, hands and head have been cleaned and bandaged though his hair still sticks out all over. I haven't spoken to him since the moments before he and Jou started pounding each other. Actually, I have no idea what to say. Do I thank him for feeling so strongly or do I admonish him for being a hotheaded idiot? I haven't a clue. Silence is my best response at the moment.

At least Jou is okay. He regained consciousness in the ambulance while the paramedics were checking him out and refused to go to the hospital. After cleaning his wounds and bandaging him up, they helped him back into the house. I pulled one of the paramedics aside and he told me that Jou was just bruised, nothing broken. I'm glad of that. The way Kaiba laid into him, I expected at least some cracked ribs.

Any chance of salvaging that relationship went out the window with Kaiba's first punch, really with his arrival at their door in my stead.

I'm sure Yugi won't be far behind.

I scrub my eyes at that thought, fighting off tears. I can't lose him now. Not after all these years apart. There has to be a way to fix this.

My cell rings and I yelp in surprise.

At the sight of the name in the display, I hesitate to answer.

"H-Hello?" I stutter, catching Mai just before the phone dumps her into my voicemail.

"Your things will be out front until tomorrow afternoon. Then they will be in the dumpster," she hisses before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"…After all these years, you're still Kaiba's lap dog…"

That really pissed me off. Yami's no one's lap dog. He never has been.

But Yami must have felt that way too because he didn't say anything. He's not my lap dog. He's my friend. And I couldn't let them treat him that way.

Hn. My friend. He _is _still my friend. The letters confirmed it.

I glance over at him when he yelps at the sound of his cell phone. I frown when he closes it after less than a minute. Whoever that was and whatever they said has really shaken him up.

It was probably the Mutt or his wife. Assholes. I didn't plan on kicking Jou's ass, but after what he said…He needed to be taught a lesson in humility.

That they would dismiss Yami simply because he had dinner with me proves they were never his friends to begin with. You don't abandon someone simply because they disagree with you after years of friendship.

No, you do it because they hurt your feelings once, like I did.

I can't believe I was so stupid. Now Yami thinks I read the letters, but ignored him. Ignored his cries for help. How can I prove otherwise?

I look up into crimson orbs staring at me, his face unreadable. He looks away after a few moments. I open my mouth to say something to him when Mokuba walks in.

**A/N:**Kaiba owns a 2DR, V6, NSX-T 3.2 liter Acura Targa.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**They Worry Me**

The Cayenne has been returned.

The gun charges have been dropped since the gun has been registered to Nii-sama since last year.

The assault charges against Nii-sama will be handled out of court.

Yami's things were picked up before they went into the dumpster, all surprisingly still intact.

Nii-sama's been going to work exhausted and half hung-over after spending the bulk of the last few nights pacing, drinking and smoking in his study.

I missed yet another day of school.

Yami hasn't spoken to anyone, eaten anything or left the guest room we put him in for the last three days.

And I'm at a loss.

I need to do something, but I'm not sure what. I think the first thing I have to do is get Yami out of that room. Yugi will be leaving in a few days and I can't believe Yami would want to let him go without saying anything. And I can't imagine Yugi being so angry about what happened with Jou that he'd never want to speak with Yami again.

"Mr. Kaiba!"

"Huh?" I start, looking up to see my Literature teacher hovering over me. I hear several snickers nearby.

"Mr. Kaiba," he continues in that voice I've come to call his 'detention-for-the-week' voice, "I realize you are one of the honor students in this school, but with your recent absenteeism and the way your grades have been slipping, you can't afford not to pay attention in my class. Perhaps a week of detention will help you focus. Starting this afternoon."

I knew it! "I-I can't," I assert, drawing gasps of surprise from most of the class. Mr. Yakamura is known as a hard ass and talking back to him just gets you more trouble than it's worth. But I can't have detention this week. I might not even be in school tomorrow. I have to help Yami!

"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba? You can't? Must I remind you that I am the authority here?"

"I realize that, sir," I begin, bowing my head apologetically, "But I really can't do detention this week. I'll gladly do two weeks starting Monday, but this week I just can't."

"This isn't negotiable, Mr. Kaiba," he raises his voice slightly. "I expect you here for detention at 3:45 pm sharp!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't do that," I reply, my head still bowed.

"We'll just let the principal decide whether you can, Mr. Kaiba. Please bring your things with you. Saito!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Please maintain order until I return."

"Yes, sir!"

With a sigh I pack up my books and head to the principal's office. This is a waste of time. She won't change my mind either. I won't be doing detention this week.

After 20 minutes of pointless wrangling, she drops the bomb, if I don't show up for Mr. Yakamura's detention I will be suspended for two days.

"Fine," I sigh exasperated. There goes my perfect discipline record. "Will the suspension start today or tomorrow?"

"Mr. Kaiba," she emphasizes, "I don't think you understand the magnitude of this situation! A poor discipline record can adversely affect your University circumstances!"

Soooo, screw up my college chances or help my friend and consequently, my brother. Is there really a choice?

"I understand, ma'am," I stand, meeting her eyes, "But this is much more important. I'll be back after my suspension with my brother as required. Thank you for your time."

I bow politely.

Throwing my backpack on my shoulder, I head to my locker and gather what books I think I'll need and my coat before climbing onto my bullet and speeding home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I had decided to just buy the property from Minako outright, and then thought better of it. I'd hired a team to refurbish it, but cancelled that too. I haven't even mentioned to Minako that my friend wants the space because he hasn't said he still wants it. I don't want Yami to feel indebted to me for anything. I don't want him to think he's my lap dog. I want him to go back to being my friend.

Though right now I just wish he'd just come out of that room. And eat something. And talk to us. He didn't speak to Mokuba or me after we left the police station and went to the Mutt's house to get his things. He didn't even get out of the truck. It was almost like he didn't want the stuff. But I couldn't just leave it there next to the dumpster. So Mokuba and I packed most of it in the boxes I'd grabbed the night before and piled them and what everything that didn't fit in the boxes into the back of the SUV. Once we arrived back at the house, Mokuba and I took everything into one of the guest rooms. Yami's demeanor didn't change even when we'd put everything into "his" room. He'd walked into the room listlessly and hasn't left since.

I look at the pile of work on my desk and grumble to myself. I haven't gotten anything done in days. If this keeps up, I'll have to pull a few all-nighters. Scrubbing at my tired eyes and running my hands through my hair, I settle my thoughts and get to work.

Yami will speak to us when he's ready, until then, I still have a company to run.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Yami, can I come in?" I call, knocking on his door lightly. Every other time I'd tried these last few days he hasn't answered and I'd eventually walked away.

"Sure," he responds in a distant voice. I' m pleasantly surprised to hear him answer me.

I crack the door open and frown. All of his things are still packed up. He hasn't opened any of the boxes. The things that weren't in boxes that we'd placed against the wall behind the door still lie there. At least he's changed his clothes. I'm sure if Nii-sama and I hadn't hung up some of his clothes and thrown a few others into dresser drawers, they'd still be in several of those boxes.

I sit beside him on the bed as he stares at the wall.

"Yugi leaves for Hawaii Sunday," I venture.

"I know," he replies quietly.

"Aren't you going to see him off?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't want me to."

"How do you know?"

He turns to me and I frown at his red-rimmed eyes, puffy from more than lack of sleep.

"He told me so last night," he replies soberly.

My breath hitches. Yugi rejected him? Rejected his Yami? I can't believe it!

"He…But…You're his…He's your…You're connected!" I sputter.

"Not anymore," he declares.

This is too much for me. If Yugi could do that to Yami, the closest thing the pharaoh has in this life to family, then what hope does he have for anything else in his life?

Not knowing what to say, I just take his hand. If Yugi won't be his family, I will.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So let me get this straight," Sugoroku Mutou questions his grandson over the phone, "Yami got in a fight with Jou and now you don't want anything to do with him?"

"No, Jii-chan," Yugi sighs into the phone. "Yami had Kaiba beat Jou up after Jou and Mai told him that Kaiba wasn't welcome in their house."

"Well, I find that hard to believe. Yami and Kaiba aren't even friends anymore."

"They _are_ Jii-chan! Kaiba's taken him to dinner and everything. And he was _with_ Kaiba when he went to beat up Jou. And when Kaiba was arrested, Yami left with him!"

"Maybe he didn't know what else to do. Are you sure Jou didn't start something? You know how much of a hothead he can be, Yugi."

"Jii-chan, Kaiba was banging on Jou's door! He went to Jou's house specifically to beat him up for Yami!"

"How do you know that? Did Kaiba say that? Didn't you say that Yami was planning to move out by the end if the week? Maybe Kaiba was just there to help Yami get his things."

"Gods, Jii-chan, you just won't listen! Kaiba beat Jou up! On purpose! And he even had a gun in his truck! He wasn't there for anything good. He wasn't helping Yami in any way except to beat up Jou. Who knows what would have happened if a neighbor hadn't called the cops!"

"But Yami is family, Yugi. Jou's just your friend. How can you turn your back on him?"

"He turned his back on me!" Yugi screams into the phone. "When he abandoned me to go to Egypt on a whim, he turned his back on me!"

"You know that's not true. He had to go. He needed to be true to his heritage for a while."

"He didn't! He just didn't care! He just left me alone! Jou was the only one there for me. You'd retired and moved away. And Yami had abandoned me. I had no one but Jou. I won't abandon him like Yami did me."

"Yugi…"

"Jii-chan, I just wanted to tell you what happened and to ask you to support my decision to let him go."

"I can't do that, Yugi."

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't."

"So, you're abandoning me too?" he screams, tears mixing with his angry shout.

"No, Yugi. I will always be your Jii-chan. I just think you're too upset to make such a big decision right now. Wait until you've calmed down a bit. If you still feel this way when I come to Hawaii in a few weeks, then I will abide by your decision."

"F-Fine," he chokes into the phone. "Bye Jii-chan. I love you."

"I love you too, Yugi. Just think about what you really want to do about Yami, and we'll talk later."

"Okay, Jii-chan," he sighs, slightly calmer. "Bye."

"Bye, Yugi."

**A/N**: The Cayenne is a 4DR, all wheel drive SUV by Porsche. Kaiba owns the V8 Turbo.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Never Ask Me**

It's been about three weeks since my aibou left. Three weeks since my other half stopped speaking to me forever. Three weeks since I stopped going to work and have been holed up in this mansion, hiding from the world. Three weeks since I lost most of my high school friends and have become trapped in this opulent prison. I know all the dots on this ceiling, having laid here in this bed and stared at them for hours. I know all the sounds this house makes, having stayed up nights listening to them all.

Like when Mokuba walks up to my door, but doesn't knock because he doesn't know what to say. Like when he leaves a plate of food hoping I'll eat it, only to sigh with disappointment when he comes back later and it's still there. Like the rare occasions that Kaiba has come to the door and stood. I can almost hear his heart beating when he's there. He wants to say something, but I don't think even he knows what.

It's not like I don't eat. I just usually do it in the middle of the night when I don't have to talk to anyone or deal with their questioning looks. I can't answer the questions they want to ask, so it's best that I don't see them.

I turn toward the door as I hear Kaiba approaching. His footfalls are very distinctive. I glance at the clock, 1:34 am, time for one of his 20-minute door starings.

His fist pounding on the door scares me half to death.

"Yami! Open up this damn door! You've been holed up in there long enough!"

"Go away, Kaiba!" I yell.

"Like hell! Apparently, you've forgotten where you are."

I hear a key turn in the lock and the door flies open to reveal a triumphantly smirking Seto Kaiba.

I roll away on the bed.

"Go away. Kaiba," I mumble, my back to him.

"It's time to stop wallowing, Yami," he asserts. "You are more than just Yugi's other half. And you wrote in your letters that other than me, you only really missed Sogoroku and he's still talking to you, right?"

I grunt affirmatively.

"So, forget those other idiots. Yugi will figure out he's being an ass eventually. Until then, you need to get the hell out of this room. 'Cause I don't plan on supporting you forever."

"Why didn't you answer me, Kaiba?" I ask after a few minutes.

There are a few moments of silence before I feel him sit on the bed behind me.

"I just got them two months ago."

I turn to face him.

"What are you talking about? How could you get them two months ago? I wrote to you for years!"

His eyes lock with mine.

"I really did have a standing order to shred anything from any of you. My secretaries defied me. Minako gave me your letters the day I threw you out of my office."

I don't know what to say. I thought he'd just ignored me, but he never got them.

"What happened to you, Yami? What happened while you were in Egypt? Why didn't you mention Corey, Pierce and Tanya anymore?"

Leave it to Kaiba to get straight to the heart of the matter.

I roll away from him again.

"Corey and Tanya are dead," I mumble. "Corey killed Tanya in a jealous rage because he thought she was flirting with me. Pierce killed Corey protecting me."

Kaiba's hand on my back in a comforting gesture surprises me.

It's painful to remember. My chest feels tight. It's hard to breathe.

"It was nearly 4 am and we were four of the last ten or so patrons at the bar. Corey, Tanya, Pierce and I had all been drinking most of the evening. Tanya and I were talking and laughing about one of the professors. Corey and Pierce were watching us. Tanya put her hand on my arm while saying something silly and the next thing we knew, Corey was screaming at her and calling her a slut. She ran to the bathroom and he followed. A few minutes later we heard yelling and screaming accompanied by a series of crashes and loud thumps. I just happened to be the first of three people to run to see what was happening. Corey came out with blood on his hands and throttled me.

I can still see Pierce's eyes when he knew Corey was dead. I know he hadn't meant to kill him, but Corey wouldn't let go of me. Another few moments and he would have choked me to death. Pierce just hit him with the bottle to get him off of me, but it shattered against Corey's skull.

"Because Pierce was a diplomat's son," I continue, glad to finally be able to tell someone what happened, "it was swept under the rug. People at the bar where it happened were paid off. Pierce was sent back to France and I was told not to talk about it. Two of my friends were dead, another had been shipped off, and I couldn't say anything. The archeologists at the site were told Corey and Tanya got Malaria and were sent home and Pierce's dad wanted him back for diplomatic reasons. Corey and Tanya's parents were told they died in a car accident. I was the only one left who knew the truth."

It's painful to talk about, though I've wanted to for so long.

"Let's go," Kaiba commands getting up from the bed.

I turn to him slowly.

"Go? Go where? It's 2 o'clock in the morning."

He looks at his watch.

"1:57 actually. Not that it matters. You've got five minutes. Get dressed. We're getting out of here for a while."

He sweeps out of the room, closing the door behind him. It's then I realize I've been lying here in just my boxers the whole time. Great.

Exactly five minutes later, he's banging on my door again.

"Alright already, Kaiba! I'm coming!" I yell, zipping up my jeans.

The door swings open.

"Could you knock first?"

"I did knock."

"Then could you wait until I asked you to come in?"

"Whatever. C'mon!"

I follow him out to the SUV after donning my shoes, jacket, hat, coat and gloves.

"Where are we going" I ask after we've ridden in silence for about ten minutes.

"You'll see."

"I'm not great with surprises, Kaiba."

"You'll like this one." A pause. "You know, it's okay if you want to call me Seto."

I stare at him, wide-eyed.

He glances at me and laughs.

"What? Is it that surprising that I'd let you call me Seto," he snickers.

"Yes!" I nod enthusiastically.

He laughs again.

15 silent minutes later, we pull up to an apartment. It sits over a dojo.

"Kaiba…" I begin.

"Out," he urges, hopping out and heading up to the building. I follow close behind. We go up two flights of stairs to a lone door. He pulls out a key and opens it, flipping on the light near the door. I step into the large space, inhaling sharply. I wander around, checking out the kitchen, the dining room, the two bedrooms and the one and a half bathrooms. There's even a small deck off the living room. I'd love to live here.

I turn to Kaiba leaning on the wall by the front door and smile at him.

"I take it you're impressed," he drawls.

"Very much," I gush. "But I thought you said it needed fixing up," I mumble, looking around again at the new carpeting and freshly painted walls.

"Yeah, well, Mokuba and I took care of that while you were moping. If you don't like the colors of anything, blame him; he picked them out."

I turn back to him with a smile.

"You and Mokuba did this for me?"

"We decided what needed to be done. The contractor took care of making sure it happened."

"So, are you my landlord now?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"No," he scoffs. "Why would I want that hassle? You answer to Minako."

"So, when can I move in?"

"Yesterday. I took the liberty of signing your lease for a year."

"You can't sign a lease for me! Besides, how do I know what it said? What if you got me a bad deal?"

He laughs heartily at that and in that instant I remember why I missed him so much. Kaiba was always so passionate about everything. Or at least everything important to him. His emotions always shone through to those he trusted and cared for. I smile at him again and his eyes lock with mine. For a brief moment I see something else there, but it's too fast to catch.

He yawns dramatically, stretching his arms above his head.

"Well, you may not have a job anymore, but I do, so let's go," he orders turning of the light.

"Hey, it was your idea to come out here!" I retort, following him down the stairs after closing the door.

"I had to do something. I was sick of you moping around all day. You were making Mokuba crazy and frankly pissing me off. You'd better find something to do tomorrow other than moping in that room."

"Or what?" I challenge, climbing into the passenger side.

"I'll think of something," he murmurs, " And you won't like it, trust me."

"Sure," I scoff earning a mock glare before he pulls off and heads back to the mansion.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well, that went better than expected. I thought getting him out of that room would have been much harder. I'm glad it wasn't.

And I'm glad he finally told me what happened to him. That's pretty awful, especially since he had to keep it to himself for so long. I wonder if telling me really helped all that much?

I glance at him for a moment, happy to see a wistful little smile on his face. It's been a long time since I saw him smile like that. It's a welcome site.

I guess he'll be moving out soon, though part of me wishes he wasn't. I like having him in the house. Even though he spent all of his time moping at least he was there.

Hmmm, I'd better make sure Mokuba doesn't skip school to help him. The only reason they took that suspension off his record was because I assured them he wouldn't miss anymore school unless there was blood involved, most likely his. I don't like to go back on my word.

As we pull into the garage, I realize how tired I really am. These last few months have been pretty fucked up. I need things to go back to normal for a while. Or at least what passes for normal around here.

"Well, 'night," I yawn, heading up to my room.

"Good-night, Seto. And thanks. For everything."

"Anytime, Yami. Anytime."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Past My Door**

Today is the day.

I needed to get Yami out of that room and today would be the day I did it. I know Seto promised that I wouldn't miss anymore school, but I just can't let this go on any longer.

Using my master key, I unlock the door and go in, expecting to see Yami still laying in bed or staring at the wall. Instead, I find the room completely empty. Panicking for a moment, I notice that the bathroom door is closed and hear the faint sound of running water.

Well, at least he's up. At first I plan to wait in the room for him, then figure he probably wouldn't appreciate that.

Heading down to the kitchen, I make a pot of coffee, having a cup myself before heading back to Yami's room.

"Come in," he calls when I knock on the door. As soon as he sees me, he frowns.

"Why aren't you in school, Mokuba?"

"I needed to make sure you were alright, Yami. School can wait."

"Seto will have my head if he knows you're skipping school for me," he admonishes.

'Seto'? When did he start using Nii-sama's first name?

He looks at the clock on his dresser.

"It's only 9:30. If you leave now, you can say you were late because you were sick from something you ate and Seto doesn't have to know you'd planned to skip," he suggests.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I frown at him.

"I'm fine, Mokuba. Or at least better. Thank you for what you did with the apartment. Seto took me to see it last night."

My eyes widen at that.

"He got you out of the room?"

He laughs.

"Your brother can be very…persuasive."

"I'll bet."

"It's almost 10, Mokuba. You really should get to school. I'll be okay. Actually, I'm meeting your brother for lunch today."

"You are?" I ask in amazement.

Nii-sama hasn't taken a lunch in years. I was right. Now that Yami's back, he will become more human. Maybe before I go off to college, I'll get my brother back.

"School, Mokuba," he reiterates sternly.

"Okay, okay. I'm going. See you later, Yami."

Quickly changing into my uniform, I hop in the Targa and head out. After using the excuse Yami gave me for my tardiness, I enjoy my day at school for the first time in months.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Another loud yawn escapes Seto's lips as we each lunch. Really as I eat lunch. Seto's had nothing but coffee since we got here.

"Are you going to eat?"

"Too tired," he mumbles.

"Why don't you just go home then?"

"Too much to do."

"I can't believe you're accomplishing anything in the state you're in."

"Hn. Shows how much you know. I've already negotiated four contracts, de-bugged one of my security systems, again, and updated my will."

"Updated your will? That's a bit…morbid, don't you think?"

"I also gave Minako her yearly evaluation."

"You didn't penalize her for the letters did you?" I frown. Seto can be vindictive when he doesn't get his way.

"Hn. I gave her a raise," he yawns. "Aren't you done eating yet? I need to get back to work."

"Well, don't let me stop you."

"Whatever. Just hurry up. I want to get a nap in before my board meeting at 2:30."

"Why don't you just go back now? I can get home okay."

"Fine," he mumbles, calling the waiter over with a snap of his fingers.

At the waiter's approach, all the sleepiness from his face and voice evaporates, leaving only the commanding CEO in its wake. He tells the waiter I'll be staying and to have the tab put on a certain card, then dismisses him with wave. Then he flips open his ever-present cell phone, instructing his driver to wait at the entrance for me and deliver me to the mansion once I'm done.

Another yawn and a slight stretch accompanies his mumbled, "Later, Yami," as he grabs his coat and scarf and exits the restaurant.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'I can get home okay,' he said. Home. He called my house 'home'.

I look back at the idiots on my board, wondering why I'm here listening to them ramble on about nothing when I'd much rather be spending time with Yami. We still have a lot to catch up on. Last night was only the beginning of rekindling this friendship. We didn't have nearly enough time to talk. I still haven't told him how much I missed him and how glad I am that he's back. We haven't even had a chance to duel!

Speaking of dueling, where the hell did I put my deck?

"…don't you think so, Mr. Kaiba?"

Shit. Takahashi was talking to me again and I wasn't listening as usual.

"I mean the duel disks could be manufactured with…"

I know he is not brining up that plastic crap again. Does he want to be fired?

"…high quality plastic, so they wouldn't seem as 'cheap' as what that other company wanted to do, so…"

"Takahashi." I growl. "What part of 'no' did you not get the first time you brought this crap to me?"

"Well, sir, I thought you meant that you wouldn't want a cheap replica. But this new company promises a higher quality than what those others offered, so..."

"Maybe some time in Accounting would help you understand. You're dismissed," I command.

"S-sir," he stutters, eyes wide.

"Minako," I nod to my secretary.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Please note in today's minutes that Mr. Takahashi will be assigned to the Accounting department for the next 90 days. Also note that without a favorable review by his supervisor, he will not be returned to the board."

"Yes Mr. Kaiba."

"B-but…Mr. Kaiba…"

"You have two minutes to leave this meeting and report to Accounting or you will be looking for another job."

"Y-yes, sir," he stutters, quickly gathering his things and exiting.

"Now, what's next on the agenda?" I address to the remaining members.

Maybe Yami's influence isn't so good after all. Two months ago, I'd have fired him. I'm getting soft.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What the…? Is someone spitting on me? What is that?

I open my eyes to see a bleary figure in front of me. I close them again to get my bearings and feel the spittle on me again.

"Stop spitting on me," I yell.

"It's alive," I hear Mokuba snicker.

Mokuba? What the hell? Where am I?

I open my eyes again, blinking and rubbing them to clear my vision to find Yami in front of me with a spray bottle. I guess that's what I felt. Good. I'd have had to kill whoever was spitting on me.

"Yami?" I mumble.

"Are you awake enough to get to your room?" he asks.

Am I? No. I'm not even awake enough to get out of this car. I hope I'm in the Limo. I'd hate to think I drove home like this.

"What time is it?" I mumble, moving to get out of the vehicle.

"2:30 in the morning," Mokuba replies. "The driver picked you up from work a little over an hour ago, but couldn't get you to wake up, so he came and got us."

That's right. I wanted to finish up that presentation before I left.

"You've been up almost 24 hours, Seto, after barely sleeping for the past few days. Your body finally gave out," Yami explains.

"Whatever," I mumble, still trying to get out of the car.

"Here, let me help you," Yami offers, putting down the spray bottle and taking my hand.

He gets me out of the limo, but I'm still too wiped to walk on my own, so he shoulders me.

"Mokuba, get his briefcase and computer. I'll get him upstairs," I hear him tell Mokuba.

My feet have become my own worst enemy and I find myself leaning heavily on Yami. He's actually pretty strong to be holding me up like this. I stumble on the first step and we fall against the wall.

"Easy, Seto," he commands.

Standing back up, my face slides through the top of his hair. Is that vanilla? Hmm, let me smell again. Yep, vanilla. Definitely not something from my house.

As he's steering me toward my bed, our feet get tangled and I hit the floor, Yami landing on top of me. He's really warm. I could sleep right here. Yeah. That's good. Right here on the floor. With Yami. As I roll to my side with Yami in my arms to get more comfortable, he screams in my ear.

"Kaiba!"

"Don't call me that," I mumble.

"Kaiba!" he yells louder.

Gods, why doesn't he just go to sleep?

A sharp pinch on my neck startles me almost awake.

"What the hell was that for?" I snap sleepily.

"Because you're crushing me," Yami grumbles.

I open my eyes to find Yami wrapped in my arms beneath me on the floor.

"Oh. Sorry, Yami," I murmur, letting him go and climbing into my bed.

Ooo, pillow. I grab the large, cushy item and pull it under my head.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What. The. Hell?

Nii-sama on the floor? On top of Yami?

I'm sure my mouth is hanging open, but I don't care. I came up to see if Yami needed any help getting Nii-sama into bed since he stumbled with him on the stairs, but I didn't expect to see this!

"Kaiba!" Yami calls. Nii-sama's just holding him tighter.

"Kaiba!" he yells louder. Did Nii-sama just nuzzle him?

What. The. Hell!

Is this how Nii-sama got him out of the room? What did they do at the apartment?

Suddenly, Nii-sama lets him go and climbs into bed. Maybe he was just asleep all this time. Still, he was pretty enthusiastic with that…that snuggling with Yami. Maybe they've done this before. Maybe before Yami went away. No, they didn't have that kind of relationship then. Could they have one now? No, I think I'd have noticed that.

Oops, Yami's coming this way. I guess I should close my mouth now.

"Do you think he'd be mad if we called him in sick tomorrow? He really needs at least eight hours of sleep," Yami mentions with concern.

"I'll tell Minako that he's working from home in the morning, but may be in later," I reply soberly. He's right. Nii-sama has been pushing the envelope lately.

"Fine. 'Night, Mokuba."

"Goodnight, Yami."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

No matter how long I stare at the ceiling, I can't get the events of tonight out of my head.

Seto sniffed me. And nuzzled my hair. Twice. And then what happened in his bedroom…

I know I should dismiss it as sleep deprivation, but knowing he was operating from that state only makes it worse. Because in that state, like being drunk, you are acting without inhibitions, doing things you would do if you had no conscience controlling you.

Is that how Kaiba thinks of me?

I roll over on my side and close my eyes. Maybe this will make better sense in the morning.

Well, later today.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Why They Don't**

From my living room window, I have an incredible view of the ocean. I cherish it. Sometimes, when my life is too much to handle, I just stand here and look out the window for a while. It always works to clear my head and make me feel better.

I've stood here everyday for some period of time for the past six weeks. My head is still full of worries and I feel awful.

"Jii-chan?"

"Yes, Yugi?" He responds from behind his newspaper. I'm really glad he came to visit earlier this month. Maybe I can convince him to stay more than his planned two months or even to move here permanently.

"I miss him," I confess, staring at the waves crashing against the shore, reveling in the warm breeze through the open window.

"Well," he begins, folding the newspaper to pay more attention to me, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind hearing from you. Why don't you call him?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because he lives with Kaiba."

"Really now!" Jii-chan replies a little shocked.

"It's not like that, Jii-chan," I admonish, turning to frown at him. At least I don't think it is. Though they were sometimes a little touchy-feely when we were in school. And it would explain Kaiba's beating up Jou if Jii-chan's right and Yami didn't plan it.

"Well, why don't you call on his cell?" Jii-chan suggests helpfully.

"After what happened with Jou, I deleted it," I affirm, turning back to the window. It really is a beautiful day. I wish I could enjoy it more.

"Yugi," Jii-chan calls after several minutes of silence.

"Hmm?"

"I can help you if you really want to call him," he states somberly. I spin to face him, wrinkling my brow in confusion.

"What do you mean, Jii-chan?"

"I talk to Yami at least twice a week since I've been here, Yugi," he admits.

"What!"

Suddenly I'm angry, but I'm not sure why. Is it because he's been speaking to Yami behind my back or is it because Yami had the nerve to contact him?

"He asks about you all the time, Yugi."

"Well, he can go to hell!" I scream.

"Why are you so angry, Yugi? Didn't you just say that you missed him?"

"I don't care!" I scream louder. Gods, I sound like a two-year old! What's wrong with me? Am I jealous that my Jii-chan has had more time with him than I have? But that's what I wanted, isn't it; to be away from him? So why should I care?

Shit! I need to get out of the house for a while.

"I'm going for a swim," I grumble, storming out the front door, not caring that all I have to swim in under my t-shirt and jean shorts are my boxers. They'll just have to do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I glance at him over my menu as he scans his own, the usual light scowl on his face. Actually, I don't think he has the scowl all the time, just around anyone other than Mokuba and me.

Wow. Does that put me in Mokuba's class of importance?

Right. Talk about delusions of grandeur.

"I'd like to eat sometime tonight, Yami," he grumbles, slapping his closed menu on the table impatiently.

"I just don't know what I want," I retort, flipping another page of the extensive menu.

"You've been looking at that thing like it holds the secrets of the pyramids," he scoffs. "It's not like it's changed any since we came here two days ago. Or last week. Or the week before that. We've been here enough in the last month that you should have it memorized by now!"

"Whatever, Kaiba," I snip.

"Is there a reason you can't seen to remember not to call me that? It's Seto. S-E-T-O. Not difficult at all."

"Yes, K-A-I-B-A. I know," I smirk, peering over the menu at him. It's always fun to push his buttons and see how far I can get before he really gets mad.

"That's it!" he snaps. "Give me that!"

He's snatched the menu and thrown it across the room before I can react.

"Now, I'll order for you," he declares, waiving our now terrified waiter over.

I should be mad, but it's so funny to see him lose it sometimes, that all I can do is hide my smile behind my hand as he tells the waiter what we're eating. I'm fine until he looks at me and then I can't help but let out a quick bark of laughter. He glares a moment, and then shakes his head in disbelief.

"Sorry, Seto," I smirk. "It's just so much fun watching you react, that I can't help teasing you a little."

"It would be nice if you didn't do it in public. I could have killed someone with that menu. My hands are lethal weapons, you know," he glowers.

"So's your breath," I taunt, jumping from the table and running to the bathroom. I'll probably have to find another way home, but it was worth it to see that look on his face! I couldn't help it; he just walked right into that joke! I laugh out loud to myself, remembering his face again. As the bathroom door opens, I calm down and exit the stall where I was sitting, meaning to head back out and take my punishment like a man. Instead I find myself face to face with a grinning Seto Kaiba.

Uh, oh.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm starving.

Thanks to Yami, I didn't get any dinner. Worse, I've been banned from one of my favorite restaurants! Well, at least for the foreseeable future. Once Yoshi calms down, he'll call and invite me back. After all, I am his biggest patron and the reason people started going there in the first place. All it took was one paparazzi photo of me exiting with something other than a frown and his place became an instant hit.

Besides, they had Kiriko making the gazpacho again and she always adds too much salt. Yami's head probably improved the flavor.

'So's your breath', my ass. See if I feed him anytime soon.

I guess I'll pick up some ramen or something on the way home. It's almost 10 o'clock. Mokuba should be back from his ski trip by the time I get there. Maybe I should get enough for Yami too.

Nah. Let him stay hungry. He deserves it.

'So's your breath.'

Like he's ever gotten close enough to know what my breath smells like.

Well, there was that time when he had to practically carry me to my room. We were pretty close then.

After three weeks, he's still hasn't said anything about it. Maybe he thinks I was too asleep to remember it. I wish I could say I was. I wish I could stop smelling vanilla every time he walks into the room. And wondering what it would have been like to sleep with his warm body next to mine.

What the hell is wrong with me? Yami's my friend. That's it. Friend. Nothing else.

Shit. I passed the ramen place. I'll have to turn back. I'm too hungry to skip food tonight. That was last night's sacrifice for Kaiba Corp.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nii-sama came in at 10:30 pm with ramen, sans Yami. That was weird because we usually eat at Yoshi's place on Saturday's. He didn't look mad or anything. Actually, he looked rather pleased. I don't find out why until Yami comes in 20 minutes later with some sort of red paste in his hair and covering half of his clothes.

At the sight, Nii-sama bursts out laughing. Really laughing! Whatever happened, I'm glad. Just to see that for the first time in more than five years has to be worth it.

Yami doesn't seem to agree because he pushes Nii-sama out of his chair onto the floor and starts shaking his hair on him. Nii-sama continues to snicker as he puts up his arms to protect himself from the onslaught of whatever that stuff is falling out of Yami's hair. After a few minutes, Nii-sama wrestles Yami down to the floor, tickling him mercilessly. I laugh with them until I note the similarities to that night I found them on Nii-sama's bedroom floor. They must realize it too, because they stop laughing abruptly. Yami is underneath Nii-sama who's kneeling over his torso, one leg on each side, with one hand holding both of Yami's wrists as the other runs across his stomach, made bare by Nii-sama pulling up Yami's shirt to tickle him.

They both scramble up and disappear from the kitchen.

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I glance at the phone number Jii-chan gave me. Yami's cell. I want to call him, but I'm not sure if I should. I was pretty final with my good-bye. How would it look if I went back on my word?

And what would I do about Jou and Mai? I just spoke to them yesterday about coming to visit this summer. I don't want to lose them as friends, but I waited so long for Yami to finally come home, how could I just walk away now?

Well, I guess I already did, really.

That's why I'm not sure I should call. Maybe Yami has accepted that I'm out of his life now, and it would just be awkward to talk to me. Besides, he has Kaiba now. And it is _obvious_ Kaiba considers him important. I mean he got arrested for him!

I look at the number again and calculate the time in my head. It should be about 7:30 in the evening there. Taking a breath, I dial the number from Jii-chan's cell. Just in case he's still upset with me I don't want him not to answer or hang up because he sees my number.

"Hi, Jii-chan!" He answers cheerfully. "What are you doing calling so late? It must be almost midnight in Hawaii."

"It's me, Yami," I say quickly and am met by silence.

"Why are you calling, ai-um Yugi? Is something wrong with Jii-chan?" He questions grimly, all mirth leached from his voice.

"Actually, I just wanted to talk to you, Yami."

"About what?"

"Just wanted to see how you're doing."

Gods, what a stupid thing to say! I know how he's doing! He's hurt and angry and it's my fault! I'm such an idiot.

"How I'm…doing, Yugi?" he questions coolly. "Let's see, how should I be doing, since my other half dismissed me?"

"Yami…"

"What do you want, Yugi? Why did you really call? Were you hoping that I'd decided to have nothing more to do with Seto and come running to Hawaii to be with you and join the 'I hate Kaiba' fan club?"

"Seto? Since when do you call him 'Seto'," I question, now very curious about their "friendship". What if they really are together?

"As if that's any of your business, Yugi. If I want to call my friend by his first name and he doesn't mind, why should you care? And if I don't mind being tickled or wrestling with him and actually enjoy it, why should I explain any of that to you!"

"Wrestling? What's going on with you two, Yami? Are you going out now?" Maybe Jii-chan jumped to the right conclusion after all!

"That's none of your business, Yugi," he spits.

"I'm sorry, Yami. I shouldn't have walked out on you. I was wrong," I offer humbly.

Dead silence.

"Whatever, Yugi," he mumbles and hangs up.

Well, he didn't tell me to 'go to Hell', so maybe…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I throw my cell into the corner of my room and flop on my bed.

This has been a hell of a few days.

First there was that…that…whatever that was with Seto on Saturday. Then the call from the Museum on Monday saying they won't need me until February 15th, which equals another month of mooching off of Seto. And now I get this weird call from Yugi. I finally start dealing with life without him and he wants to be my aibou again.

Well, Seto did say something about Yugi realizing he was being an ass eventually. I guess he was right.

Now if I could just figure out why I enjoyed being flat on my back under Seto when he's just my friend.

That's it. Friend. Nothing else.

Maybe if I say it enough times, I'll believe it.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Taking the Time**

"Ooooohhhhhhh Shiiiiiit!" I yell tightening my grip around him as Seto opens up the throttle on the UD (Ultimate Dragon, the nickname he gave his Moto Guzzi V7 Ippogrifo motorcycle) and we careen down a steep hill on our way to the vacation house in the mountains. If he keeps this up, I'm going to have soiled underwear and he's going to have some broken ribs.

And I thought riding with Mokuba was dangerous and terrifying!

Thankfully, as we get back to a flatter place on the road, he eases back on the throttle and I loosen my grip. Not that he's going slow, just slow-er. Turning my head to the right, I watch the scenery go by with interest. It's really beautiful out here. I wonder if Kaiba picked this place. I can't imagine him traveling out this far to scout for anything.

Then again, I can't imagine him taking a vacation, yet here we are, about 30 minutes from spending Christmas through New Years' out of town.

I think Seto's been replaced by a pod person.

Craning my neck to check behind us for Mokuba, since I can't loosen my grip for fear of falling off, I become concerned when he's not there. That is until I hear the familiar sound of his bike on our left. I look over just in time to catch his head tilt forward in challenge and Seto's nod in assent. I don't need to see their feral grins to know that they're there. Moments later both brothers take off like bats out of hell while I concentrate on keeping my underwear clean.

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"I didn't know you were such a wimp, Yami," Seto teases as Yami hovers over the toilet. He'd lost his lunch the moment we got to the house. It's a good thing there's a bathroom in the front hall.

"Fuck, Kaiba! You nearly killed us!" He yells at Nii-sama.

"Nonsense," Nii-sama dismisses.

"We almost ran off the road, Kaiba!"

"We were no where near running off the road, Yami. I'm always completely in control of my UD. And stop calling me Kaiba."

"Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba," he taunts and Nii-sama starts moving toward him, glaring.

"Careful, _Kaiba_," Yami emphasizes, "You don't want to get too close. I could throw up on you. Maybe I want to throw up on you!"

Nii-sama stops in his tracks then sweeps out of the room in a huff.

"Are you alright, Yami," I venture.

"I will be," he groans. "Actually, Seto's right. I am a wimp."

"You're not. He was going really fast today. In fact, this is the first time he's ever beaten me racing and we've been doing it for years."

Truthfully, I've never seen Nii-sama ride with that much enjoyment before. He was actually having fun.

All of a sudden, it hits me; I think he was showing off for Yami.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While Yami prays to the porcelain god, I take the time to check out the rest of the house.

I haven't been here in years. I think the last time was after Mokuba's friend died in a car accident and he needed to get away for a few days. He was what, 13? Yeah. He'd just turned 13. His school was off for summer vacation. Has it been that long since I took any time off? Almost five years?

Actually, I don't really know why I'm here now. I guess I just wanted to do something nice for Yami. He'd seemed so down as Christmas got closer. I guess he'd probably planned to spend the time with his 'friends'. He'd probably been looking forward to it for years. But those assholes had to ruin it for him.

After making sure all five of the bedrooms are clean and laid out perfectly, and that our luggage had arrived as requested, I go down the back stairs to make sure the kitchen is fully stocked with the food I ordered and all of the necessary cooking utensils. I don't really know why Mokuba wanted to cook this week instead of eating out or having food catered, but I'll go along. After all, it's been a while since I exercised my baking prowess. I expect Yami to leave here with at least one cavity by the time I'm done. And after Mokuba feeds him, he'll probably need a shoehorn to fit into those leather pants! Reflecting on the last time I saw him in those pants, two days ago, I have to say he's close to needing one now.

Making my way out of the dining room with the solid mahogany setting for eight, I walk down the hall and into the expansive entertainment room and am pleasantly surprised by the eight foot Christmas tree. I smile to myself, recognizing Mokuba's decorating handiwork. I remember the first time he pulled out those blue and silver, dragon-themed lights and trimmings.

He was eleven. I was sixteen. Gozoboro had jumped out of the window just a month and a half before. I'd been driving myself hard to transform Kaiba Corp. and hadn't even gone shopping for presents for him.

Early Christmas Eve morning, he woke me from my usual position of slumped over my desk in the study and drug me downstairs, making me keep my eyes closed as he led me into the living room.

This was before Yami had shattered my heart, but the sight of that tree, fully decked in silver and blue with Mokuba's Blue Eyes White Dragon drawing on a sheet of notebook paper as its crowning glory almost had me in tears. Every year after that, he'd put the tree up and update the picture somehow.

I smile in remembrance and joy at the sight of the newest version of the tree's crowning glory, a detailed, 11" x 14" in., full color painting of my Blue Eyes Shining Dragon in attack mode.

There's no doubt about it, I have the best little brother on the planet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once I'm able to pull my head out of the toilet and have rinsed my mouth and wiped my face, Mokuba gives me a tour of the house.

The living room is obviously for 'show' as the furniture in it doesn't look like it's ever been touched, the table in the dining room looks like it costs more than I'll make at the museum in a year, the kitchen must have every state-of-the-art gadget there is as well as a mouth-watering assortment of food already in the fridge, but the best room of all is the entertainment room.

When I see the huge Christmas tree and its unusual, but fantastic topper, I gasp in surprise.

"Wow!" I manage eventually.

Seto steps beside me, arms folded, gazing at the tree fondly. A small smile tugs at his lips when he says, "Mokuba did a great job, didn't he?"

"Yeah," I smile.

We stand in silence for a few minutes, admiring the tree. Sequestered among the silver and blue garland are hundreds of blue, silver and white lights. Some are steady, some are blinking, some are "chasers", but the bulk of them seem to be pulsing along to a medley of Christmas carols. It's truly enchanting.

"Sorry if I scared you, Yami," Seto inserts, "but I really was completely in control of the motorcycle the whole time."

"I know," I sigh, turning from the decorated masterpiece to look up at him. "I guess I've just gotten used to a slower pace over the last four years. I'm sure I'll be fine on the way back."

"We'll see about that," he smirks. "I'm taking the Katana back, Mokuba's taking the Turbo. And trust me when I say you'd rather ride with me."

Whoa, Seto warning me about riding with Mokuba? Definitely advice I should heed. Though it would be nice not to worry about riding with Seto either.

"Any chance that I could just ride back in a limo? Or maybe you could give me a car to drive back," I suggest.

"You drive?" Seto turns to me, eyebrow raised in query.

"How old do you think I am? 12? Of course I drive!"

"Hn."

"What?"

"C'mon. Let me show you to your room. I'm sure you're pretty worn out," he concludes, heading for the stairs.

"Whatever, Kaiba."

He snorts at my tease and leads me up the stairs.

His is the largest bedroom, of course, with Mokuba's directly across from it and mine right next to Mokuba's. I don't even take off my clothes before flopping onto the large, soft bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wow. They didn't even notice I was in the room.

It's so obvious, but I bet they don't see it at all.

Seto and Yami just click together. I knew that they were close friends before and that they understood each other very well, but I didn't expect to see this nearly complete synchronization between them. And I think other feelings are coming into play between them as well.

I wonder how far things will go.

And to think, none of this would have happened if Minako and Miss Aoi hadn't kept those letters.

I'll have to thank both of them personally when we get back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My leg is buzzing. No, it's vibrating. Something in my jeans' pocket is vibrating. What could be vibrating in my pocket? Oh yeah, phone.

"Hello?" I mumble sleepily after fishing the device out.

"Yami?"

Great. Yugi again.

"I'm too tired to deal with you, Yugi," I mumble.

"I just wanted to say Merry Christmas."

"You've said it. Now good-bye."

"Wait, don't hang up! Jii-chan wants to talk to you! Hold on."

A few moments pass before I hear Jii-chan's greeting on the other line.

"So, how are you, Yami?"

"I don't want to talk to him right now, Jii-chan," I reply, sitting up on the bed and stretching to wake up further.

"That's fine. But it doesn't answer my question."

"I'm okay."

"You sound tired."

"I just woke up."

"Oh. Well, Merry Christmas, Yami."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Jii-chan."

"So what are you doing today?"

"I don't know yet. Seto and Mokuba haven't told me. I only found out we were coming here when I called you Wednesday."

"To the house in the mountains?"

"Yeah. It's really nice, though the drive here was a little stressful."

"What happened?"

"The Kaiba brothers own really fast motorcycles."

"I see." Pause. "Is there something else, Yami?"

Pause.

"I don't know, Jii-chan. It's just that… Well lately, things between me and Seto…"

"What is it, Yami?"

"Yami! Dinner!" Mokuba calls from downstairs.

"Okay, Mokuba!" I call back.

"Never mind, Jii-chan. It's nothing. I have to go."

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Yami. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Jii-chan. I'll call you tomorrow."

I hang up and head down to eat. I wonder what they've had catered? As I come down the back stairs, enjoying the smell of whatever wonderful meal they had brought in, I am shocked to see Seto pulling what looks like a large pan of brownies from the oven.

"Hey Yami!" Mokuba calls from the large kitchen table, set with lots of food.

I'm distracted by the mouthwatering meal before me.

"I hope you're hungry! I'm afraid I got a little carried away and made quite bit of food. I guess it was because I haven't cooked in a long time," Mokuba concludes.

"You cook?" I mutter dumbfounded.

"Very well," Seto inserts. "He just hasn't had a reason to for a long time."

I look back at Seto who's placed the pan of brownies on a cooling tray.

"Did you make those too, Mokuba?" I question, sure that I must be still asleep and dreaming all this up.

"No, I made those," Seto responds with a smile.

Oh yeah, definitely a pod person.

Without commenting on anything else, I sit down and enjoy the scrumptious meal figuring that when I wake up from this dream tomorrow morning, I'll at least be well fed.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks. And no, I don't own eBay either. Darn it!

**A Number of Things**

After dinner, Mokuba insists we watch a 'Three Stooges' movie with him. Actually he tricks us into it. He said we were going to see some new anime he'd found that he thought we'd really like. Instead, what we get is very stupid, but extremely funny slapstick comedy. Mokuba had purchased something called "The Three Stooges: Platinum Collection" from eBay and wanted to share a few of the movies with us, but he knew we'd never watch something called 'We Want Our Mummy' intentionally.

Seto leaves after about 30 minutes in, mumbling something about 'the stupidity burning his brain', but Mokuba and I watch the whole film. I can barely breathe by the time it's over.

My aib-Yugi, would love this movie. Maybe if I ever go back to speaking to him I'll suggest it. Or maybe I'll just send it to Jii-chan while he's there.

Oh crap! Mokuba's putting in another one! It's the flip side of the DVD and it's called 'Matri-Phony'.

"What are you trying to do, Mokuba? Kill me?" I rasp.

He laughs and hits 'play'.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I watch him and Mokuba laughing and enjoying that brain rot and smile to myself. It's great to have Yami back. It's great to have Yami. I close my eyes and force myself to remember the truth about us:

Friends. That's all. Nothing more.

I say it to myself all the time, but I don't mean it. It's not what I want.

I want to smell that vanilla up close again, not faintly from across the room.

I want my arm around him for reasons other than helping me walk straight.

I want to feel his smooth abs for reasons other than tickling him.

I want to pick him up and carry him to my room, not to dump his head in a vat of soup.

I want him beneath me like when we were in my kitchen.

I want to hold him like I did on my bedroom floor.

I want…

I want…

I sigh to myself, resigned to the role I must play.

Friends. That's all. Nothing more.

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The next morning, when I come downstairs to find Mokuba making pancakes, I have to accept that the meal from the night before wasn't a dream.

Which is too bad really, because if that part wasn't a dream, then what happened later that night wasn't a dream either. I wanted it to be because then I could have just dismissed it and not had to think about it anymore.

I glance over to Seto sitting at the head of the table, lost in thought. I'm sure I know about what.

"Good morning, Yami," Mokuba smiles. Seto's head jerks up. I act like I didn't see it.

"Morning Mokuba. Seto," I nod to him, sliding into my spot from last night.

"Something wrong, Yami?" Mokuba frowns, perceptive individual that he is.

"Just tired," I yawn.

"I'm sure," he replies turning back to the stove. "You and Nii-sama were up pretty late last night. Who finally won that game anyway?"

"I did," Seto pipes up, obvious irritation in his voice. I hope Mokuba attributes it to lack of sleep and doesn't ask more about his brother's mood.

Breakfast is a very quiet affair, concluding with Seto sweeping out of the house when he's done and me escaping back to my room, hoping that Mokuba won't come to ask what's wrong.

His light knock about an hour later kills that fantasy.

"Okay, what happened?" he sighs, crossing his arms at me after I invite him in.

"It's no big deal, Mokuba," I reply, looking away.

"Right. That's why Nii-sama has disappeared and won't even answer his cell."

"You know how your brother gets when he's mad."

"I do, and this isn't it. What happened?"

"Just a stupid argument, Mokuba. It'll blow over."

"The last stupid argument you two had took _five years_ to blow over! Now, what the hell happened?"

"Language, Mokuba," I reply before I think.

"Damn it, Yami! I'm not 12 anymore! Stop treating me like 'Seto Kaiba's cute little brother' and remember that Nii-sama isn't your only friend!"

"I can't tell you," I whisper after several minutes of silence.

"Why not?"

"It's…private, Mokuba. Something your brother and I need to work out for ourselves."

He's quiet for a moment.

"Fine. But if he's not home for dinner, you and I are going out to look for him. Okay?"

"Okay."

He sweeps out of my room in much the same manner that Seto swept from the house earlier. Within the hour, Seto has returned and is stepping into my room.

"We need to talk," he states evenly.

"Yes, I guess we do."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I didn't plan to leave the house, but I just couldn't get my head on straight with Yami sitting right there in front of me. He didn't seem angry, but he obviously wasn't happy either.

I thought he wanted to do what we did last night. Not that we did much, but then he got all weird about it, harping on 'ruining our friendship for a few moments of pleasure'.

A few moments, I want more than 'a few moments'.

After watching Yami and Mokuba enjoying that movie for a few minutes more, I went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. After I drank a cup, I took two in for Yami and Mokuba who were in the middle of their second round of brain rot.

"How about a game of 'Go' after this?" I'd suggested to Yami.

"Sure," he'd piped up and then turned back to the rot. I left him and Mokuba there and went back into the kitchen, finding an earlier abandoned novel to occupy my time until Yami came and got me. He explained that Mokuba had decided to head to bed and 'leave us competitive idiots to our own devices'. I laughed and we started the game.

We were standing in the middle of the floor arguing about the legality of my latest move in the third of a best-of-three game. It was almost three o'clock in the morning. Yami tried to walk away and I grabbed his wrist. He turned to me, crimson blazing, and I couldn't take it anymore. His eyes widened in surprise as I stepped into his personal space and then leaned in to him so I could smell the vanilla in his hair.

After burying my face in his hair for a few moments, I pressed him against my bedroom wall and began nuzzling into his neck, inhaling more of that intoxicating scent.

Then I kissed him, lightly at first. After a few more kisses, I bit his bottom lip and he opened up to my tongue. He'd begun to respond and then pushed me away, spouting something about 'taking advantage of our friendship'. We argued. He stormed out.

I look up from the view of my feet hitting the pavement to find that I've walked quite a way from the vacation house. I guess I should get back before Mokuba becomes apoplectic.

After greeting Mokuba in the kitchen as he pulls out leftovers for lunch, I head up to Yami's room.

"We need to talk."

"Yes, I guess we do, " he replies soberly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Whatever's going on is bigger than Yami let on. After Seto came back to the house, he went up to Yami's room. I could hear them arguing for a little over an hour. I heard Nii-sama's door slam and then nothing. Neither of them came down for dinner.

They spent the rest of the week a lot more formal with each other and trying to placate me with an endless supply of 'Nothing's wrong' every time I tried to get to the bottom of their suddenly standoffish behavior.

If nothing is wrong, then why did Nii-sama have a limo bring Yami back home while we rode our bikes? And why don't they hang out together anymore? Was it too much for Yami to spend the holidays with us? I hope it didn't upset Yami because we decided not to exchange gifts this year.

Last night I saw him boxing up his things to move into the apartment and he didn't look very happy. I knew he'd planned to move as soon as his job at the museum started, but that had been pushed back until February, so why was he packing now? Of course, all I got to my inquiry about it was the now overused 'Nothing's wrong'.

Yoshi called Nii-sama two weeks ago about coming back to the restaurant, but when Saturday rolled around, we didn't go.

And Nii-sama is over-working himself. He's gone by the time I get up at 6 am and doesn't get back until sometime after 9 pm. It's almost like it was before he and Yami became friends again.

I won't let them break apart. Whatever I have to do, I'll fix this.

"Mr. Kaiba!" Mr. Yakamura yells. Shit! Why do I always do my heavy thinking in his class? Maybe it's because he's so boring.

"Yes sir, I know. A week of detention," I mumble, not looking up from my desk.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He'll be moving into his apartment next week. I told him before Christmas that I'd help. Now, I'm wondering if I should just send Mokuba.

Friends. That's all. Nothing more.

I can't do it. But I have to if I don't want to lose him again.

Shit!

Someone clears their throat, interrupting my thoughts.

I look up at my board of idiots, knowing that they've asked me something or told me something important and that I've completely missed it, judging by the expectant looks on their faces. These meetings are a waste. When's the last time I actually heard anything these fools had to say?

"What?" I growl.

"Um…Mr. Kaiba," Kiriko Satoshi sputters. I swear she's related to that ditz at Yoshi's.

Shit! He called two weeks ago and I forgot to go back! This crap with Yami is really messing up my schedule. Hn. A schedule I didn't even have until he came back into my life.

I narrow my eyes at Satoshi as she hasn't said another word.

"What?" I growl louder.

"We just needed to know if you were pleased with the number for this quarter, sir," she mumbles.

I look up at the chart projected on the screen. Hmm. Seems like we did rather well.

"They're fine," I snap, deciding between each word that I'm tired of being here. I stand and they follow suit.

"We're done until next Monday at 10 am," I grouse, turning to go back to my office.

"But sir," Satoshi interjects, "We have a lot more items on the agenda to cover."

I stop in my tracks. Are all my board members so dumb as to question my final decisions? Who's next? Ryo Hana? Saito Tanaka? Do I need to get rid of them all and just start over?

"Ms. Satoshi," I begin coolly, not turning around, "Would you like to assist Mr. Takahashi in Accounting?"

"N-No, sir," she stutters.

"Good. This meeting is over. I'll see you all next Monday."

I head back to my office to bury myself in something and try to rid my thoughts of Yami.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**That Weren't Important Yesterday**

"_Why, Yami? Just tell me why."_

"_Because it wouldn't work out and then we'd have ruined our friendship."_

"_So that's all you want? Friendship?"_

"_Yes,"_ I'd lied.

He stormed out of my room. And now, he barely speaks.

So, maybe the friendship is already ruined.

What I really want isn't important. I just need to make sure I don't lose his presence in my life again, especially now that I don't have my aibou any more. I can't lose Seto too.

My cell buzzing in my pocket startles me. Pulling it out, I find that it's Yugi again. When will he get it that I don't want phone calls from him?

"What?" I snap into the phone.

"Yami?"

"Sorry, Jii-chan," I reply much calmer. "I thought you were Yugi."

"Oh, he's not there yet?"

"What? Not here yet? You mean in Japan?"

"No, I mean Kaiba's house."

My eyes widen in fear. Mokuba's out riding and if Kaiba answers, he's likely to strangle or beat Yugi to a pulp first and ask questions later.

"Jii-chan, why didn't you tell me he was coming?" I admonish, racing down the stairs.

"He wanted to surprise you."

"It's not me I'm worried about being surprised."

I enter the front hall just in time to hear, "What the fuck do you want, traitor!"

"Gotta go, Jii-chan," I call as I flip my phone closed and put it back in my pocket.

"Seto, please don't hurt him," I request, stepping in front of a clearly disturbed Yugi. I'm sure it's been a very long time since he's seen Seto this angry.

Seto glowers at me before stalking off toward his study.

Relived at not having to fight with Seto, I turn to Yugi.

"What are you doing here, Yugi?"

"Aibou."

"What?"

"Aibou. It's what you used to call me," he states hopefully. I narrow my eyes at him.

"I repeat, what are you doing here, Yugi?"

He sighs and looks down.

"I thought if I came here, willing to face Kaiba's wrath just to see you, you'd understand how sorry I am for how I treated you."

He looks back up, locking eyes with mine.

"Yami, I'm so sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. I missed you so much when you were gone and I can't bear the thought of never being your aibou again."

His head falls again when I don't respond and I see his shoulders shaking as tears streak his face. I guess Seto was right. He did finally realize he was being an ass. And I'm glad because I can't imagine him never being my aibou again either.

"Aibou," I whisper, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He flings his arms around my neck and sobs. Deciding that standing at the front door isn't the best place to do this, I prod him to pick up his suitcase and follow me up to my room. Though that may turn out to be a really bad idea. Seto would probably blow a gasket if he knew I let my aibou into his house.

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I watch him take Yugi's hand and lead him upstairs.

Shit!

It's bad enough that he doesn't talk to me anymore, but now that he has that loser back in his life, he won't need me for anything! I don't have to worry about helping him move, because his "aibou" is here now! He'll help him!

Fuck!

I storm back into my study, eyes falling on the box of letters still in the corner and then on the fireplace. I find myself standing over the box, but I can't bring myself to do it. This could be all I have left, now. I flop into the desk chair at that thought.

No, I can do what he wants.

Friends. That's all. Nothing more.

I can make myself do it.

I will make myself do it.

And I'll even get along with that backstabbing little runt if it means keeping Yami with me.

Mokuba will be home soon. That's why I came home early because I promised him we'd go out to Yoshi's place tonight. And I'll even invite that sniveling little toad to come with us. That will make Yami happy. That's what a real friend would do.

Friends. That's all. Nothing more.

Growling to myself, I bang my head against the desk.

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The first shock was seeing Yugi.

Scratch that. The shock wasn't so much seeing Yugi as seeing him _in our house_! The second shock was that he was still breathing and that Nii-sama was just standing there while Yugi greeted me with a hug before stepping back to Yami's side with a huge grin. The next shock almost causes a coronary when Nii-sama **invites him to go with us to Yoshi's!** I must have looked pretty pale because Yami is suddenly checking me for a fever and asking if I'm all right.

"I'm fine!" I blurt, "Just caught a little off guard."

"Me too," he whispers, conspiratorially. "Did you know Seto even offered him a guest room?"

I look over to my Nii-sama and find him with his eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest, breathing slow and evenly like he does when he's trying to get his anger in check.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Yami," I warn.

"I don't either, but he won't take 'no' for an answer."

"Why is he doing this?" I wrinkle my brows at him.

"I don't know, but we'd better figure out a way for Yugi not to go with us tonight or stay here. And we'd better do it fast. I don't think he's going to last much longer."

"No. I don't think so either," I frown watching Nii-sama slip into his study. I know he's getting something to drink. He hasn't been drinking anywhere near as much as he used to since he and Yami got close again. I can't let him go back there.

"I'll be right back, Yami," I murmur, quickly heading to Nii-sama's study.

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"Please don't," Mokuba begs from behind me as I put the glass of scotch to my lips.

I sigh and put it back down.

"It's just to take the edge off, Mokie," I explain.

"Don't fucking 'Mokie' me!" He screams.

I turn to him angrily.

"I don't care how old you are, Mokuba. You will not speak to me like that," I hiss.

"Nii-sama, what are you doing?" He pleads, obviously exasperated. "Why would you invite Yugi to stay here and to go with us when you know it makes you so angry?"

"I have to, Mokuba," I begin. "Yugi is Yami's aibou. It makes Yami happy when Yugi's around. To show Yami that I can be 'just friends' and nothing more, I have to do things a real friend would do. That way Yami will stick around this time. I won't lose him if I keep him happy."

I reach for the glass again, but suddenly don't want it anymore.

"What are you talking about, Nii-sama? Yami's not going anywhere."

"Not if I keep him happy. Not if I can make sure he still needs me. That way, when you leave for college in a few months, Yami will still be around and I won't be alone. But if I can't keep him happy, he'll move to Hawaii with Yugi. If I can't have him as…as more than 'just friends', then I'll settle for that. As long as he stays here in Japan."

Shit! I hadn't meant to tell Mokuba any of that, but he's always had a knack for getting me to talk about what's bothering me without actually asking.

Well, he did ask. He just didn't ask _that_.

"I promise I'm not going anywhere, Seto," Yami's warm tenor extols. I whip around to see him standing in the doorway.

Great.

This time I pick up the glass of scotch and down it in one gulp.

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When Mokuba goes after Seto, I turn to my aibou.

"You know you can't really stay here, aibou," I frown. "And you can't go with us tonight."

"I know," he smiles at me. "That's why I brought my suitcase down when I came to say hello to Mokuba. Seto only offered to make you happy. When we decided not to have anything more to do with him, we knew Kaiba could care less about us, but I guess none of us really understood how much he'd miss having you around."

"Yes. We missed each other," I smile back.

"_Don't fucking Mokie me,"_ we hear Mokuba scream from Seto's study.

"Hmm. Maybe you should get in there," Yugi nods toward the study.

"Probably," I scoff.

A pause.

"Thank you for forgiving me, Yami," he whispers reverently.

I pull him into my arms for a warm hug before he leaves, getting into a waiting cab, which he must have called earlier. I wave good-bye and go see what's happening with the brothers. I can't remember ever hearing Mokuba say something like that to Seto, so I'm a little concerned about what could be going on.

I get to the doorway and Seto's saying something to Mokuba.

"…But if I can't keep him happy, he'll move to Hawaii with Yugi. If I can't have him as…as more than 'just friends', then I'll settle for that. As long as he stays here in Japan," he concludes, looking more worried than I've ever seen him.

Seto you idiot. Why would I leave just when we're finally back in tune with each other? Maybe not so much in the last few weeks, but you're still my best friend. That's why I don't want to do anything else. I can't lose this. I won't lose this again! My aibou lives in Hawaii. As much as I love him, he's just too far away. And I don't want to be that far from you. So I'm not going anywhere, Seto.

"I promise I'm not going anywhere, Seto," I affirm to him with a smile. Instead of helping, it seems to distress him even more and he downs the whole glass of whatever before either Mokuba or I can stop him.

Oh well. We'll just have to keep an eye on him tonight at Yoshi's.

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Nii-sama's very quiet at Yoshi's and Yami keeps staring at him, a worried frown on his face.

I just wish I knew what was going on with those two.

Maybe then I could pay more attention in Yakamura's class and stop getting detentions.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

. 

**And I Still Go**

"What the hell are you wearing," I sputter.

"Here on this planet, we call them overalls," Yami jeers.

I narrow my eyes at him. He'd been here at the apartment all day, unpacking some of the stuff we brought over yesterday and moving some of his furniture around like he wants it.

"Here on this planet, we also wear something under them called shirts," I retort.

"And be all hot and sweaty like you're going to be?" he scoffs. "I don't think so."

"Whatever, Yami," I dismiss, putting another one of his boxes of clothes into the bedroom. This morning, I put boxes of clothes and other stuff in the Cayenne, to bring them here after work tonight and he has the nerve to harass me!

Two hours later, after we've hung pictures, moved furniture some more and brought five more boxes up the stairs to un-pack, I'm beginning to think maybe he's right. I've had to wrap my undershirt around my head to keep the sweat out of my eyes and have my long-sleeved dress shirt completely unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled to my elbows. I knew I should have stopped at the house and changed first, but that would have had me going in the totally opposite direction. While Yami putzes around in the kitchen, I sit on the floor to have a smoke.

I've barely gotten two good drags before he's snatching it out of my mouth.

"Give me that!" He commands. I'm already giving up heavy drinking for him. Now he wants me to quit smoking too! Does want to get rid of all my vices? Next he'll tell me I swear too much.

"Fuck, Yami," I sneer, just to see what he'll do, "Why do you have to ruin all of my fun? It's just one lousy cigarette."

"No, it's the third lousy cigarette," he smirks, opening a window.

"You do know it's almost February, right?"

"You do know this is my apartment, right? And if I want it to be cold as hell in here, then that's how it will be."

I shiver and frown.

"Seriously, Yami. It's too cold out for this. We're both all sweaty and could get sick from this air."

"Seriously, Seto. You can't smoke in here anymore. Not only does it stay in the carpet, but all of my clothes will start to smell like smoke too."

I shrug, just to annoy him.

"It's better than smelling sweat," I tease.

He goes back into the kitchen calling over his shoulder, "Oh yeah? Bite me, Seto."

I snicker and hear him running the water on my cigarette.

Standing, I close the window because I really am getting cold. As I turn to go back to the box I was emptying, a whiff of vanilla catches me. After our talk last Saturday night when we got home from Yoshi's, I've teased him and tickled him and playfully flirted, staying well within my role of 'just friends'. But every time I touched him or stood close to him…I know what I want.

It had been easy to play my role up 'til now because either Yugi or Mokuba were around or we were at the mansion where Mokuba could show up at anytime. But Yugi went back to Hawaii yesterday and Mokuba had a group outing for a class. Now that it's just us…

I look toward the kitchen and decide that I don't want to play my role anymore. I'm going to make the move I wanted to over Christmas. And if he really does want to be just friends, he'll have to reject me with more than words.

Besides, I'm just following orders.

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Seto's silence unnerves me.

I heard him close the window, then nothing. Maybe he went to the bathroom or something. I shrug to myself and continue putting the freshly washed and dried new dishes into the cabinets.

His hands on my hips startle me so much that I drop the plate I was holding. Only my quick reflexes keep it from shattering on the floor, though it does get chipped on the sink.

"Damn it, Seto! These are new plates," I scold, looking at the big chip in my blue dinner plate.

"I'll buy you new ones," he drawls, a sensuous quality to his voice. I step away from his grasp, laying the plate in the sink. I knew he wouldn't give up so easily.

"I just want to be friends, Seto," I state seriously.

"Uh huh," he replies before grabbing my hips again and pulling me back to him. The nip at the juncture between my neck and shoulder startles me and I gasp. The delicate bites that follow along my shoulders have me at his mercy in moments.

"W-What are you doing, Seto?" I whisper as his hands grip me tighter and he begins nipping lightly down my right arm.

"Just following orders," he mumbles reversing his path back up my arm.

"O-orders?" I manage after a minute or two as he starts down my left arm.

"You said, 'Bite me'," he asserts quietly, sinking his teeth into the right side of my neck and sucking gently.

A moan is all I can manage as I tilt my head back and lean against him.

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Gotcha.

'Just friends', my ass.

Hmm. Maybe later. This time, if he doesn't stop me, it will be his ass.

The thought of him beneath me sends a new fire through my veins. I pull Yami's slim form against me, allowing my arousal to press into his back and slide one of my hands inside the side opening of his overalls. Moving to the other side of his neck, I mirror my actions from before to leave a matching mark to show my claim as my hand slides up his torso to tweak an erect nipple.

"S-Seto," he whispers, desire evident in his voice.

Letting go of his neck, I use my head to tilt his forward, nipping down the back of his neck a few moments before I go back to nipping across his shoulders. He is a mass of moaning and swaying clay in my arms now, ready for me to mold, which I will eventually. Right now, I am immensely enjoying this activity.

Salt and sweat are the dominant tastes on his skin, but I can still taste and smell that intoxicating vanilla. Maybe I will quit smoking if it will allow me to taste and smell him even more than I can now. But that's a thought for another day.

I nip slowly down his right arm again as I drag my nails lightly across his chest to tweak the other nipple, delighting in the gasp from his lips and the quivering of his body. Taking my other hand from his hip, I lift his hand and begin nipping down his forearm to his fingers as I slide nails lightly down his torso to feel those smooth abs.

I find out that more than just a shirt was lacking under his overalls when my fingers brush his proud arousal. I momentarily lose my focus and grasp it firmly, returning my mouth to the right side of his neck and biting him possessively. He crumples against me with a loud moan and I nearly fall to the floor on top of him.

Releasing him quickly, I decide that we've been in the kitchen long enough.

The shower spray seems to revive him from his lust-filled stupor. Good. I want him to be with me for this part too.

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His hands wash me gently, lingering briefly in several key locations, just across my shoulders, my lower back, my nipples, my ass. The way he's playing my body, he must have been planning this for a long time. Is this what he'd planned to do to me over Christmas? It's good that he didn't. Mokuba would have probably been traumatized by the sounds that will be coming from my bedroom later.

If there is a later. Maybe he just wants this foreplay for now and is waiting for me to make a move or show that I'm not going to push him away. I can't, even if I'd planned to before. I can't run from these touches now.

Once he finishes washing me and I rinse off, I wash and rinse my hair, then move to return the favor. I pause a moment before I begin, taking in the beauty of the ivory carving that is Seto Kaiba's body.

First, I kneel and worship his smooth thighs with my hands, reveling in the feel of powerful muscles beneath taught skin. After lathering his equally firm calves, I stand and begin working suds under and down his strong arms, imagining myself wrapped in them. His broad chest and tapering torso are next. Rather than tweak his nipples like he did mine, I rub the palm of my hand against them, enjoying their defiant peaks.

Turning him around, I add a touch of massage to my lathering of his neck, shoulders and lower back, feeling any lingering life tension slip from his body. Then I lather and shamelessly fondle his ass, my fingers lingering suggestively at his entrance.

"For a price," he murmurs in answer to my silent question. That's good enough for now. I knew that today's encounter would not end in my being seme, though it's the only role I've ever played.

I reach around and begin fondling and lathering his arousal, just like he did to me, suppressing a moment of fear. Seto's not outrageously huge, but he's not the smallest man on the planet either. I close my eyes and press my face into his soap covered back. As much as I want him, I don't want it to hurt. Well, no more than it has to anyway.

"I won't hurt you," I feel his low voice assure me. "I promise, Yami."

I don't respond, but step back under the shower spray to rinse away the soap I acquired from pressing my body to his. Once done, I climb out to dry off as he rinses the suds from his body.

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After I rinse off, I wash and rinse my hair too before drying off to join Yami in his bedroom.

He's standing naked before a window, looking out with a contented smile on his face. Though the warm mocha of his skin has lightened some, it's still an enticing and exotic dusky shade.

I step behind him, placing my hands on his hips and my chin in his slightly damp tresses.

"It's a good thing these windows aren't larger," I quip. "Otherwise you'd be giving your neighbors quite a show."

He snickers, and then turns around, regarding me seriously.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he questions with apprehension. "If it doesn't work out…I can't lose you again, Seto."

I kiss him gently.

"You won't ever lose me, Yami," I assure in a whisper against his lips. "No matter what happens."

I nip his lower lip and he opens up to me. I haven't really kissed him since Christmas and pause in anticipation of tasting him again before plunging in. A light peppermint greets me first and I'm glad that I decided to use his spare toothbrush to brush my teeth as well. The taste of stale beer and cigarettes would probably be a turn off at this point. Hmm. I wonder why he even had a spare toothbrush.

Flicking away distracting thoughts, I continue to explore his exquisite mouth for many minutes, pausing for air as necessary, before lifting his lithe form and taking him to the bed.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Fixing A Hole**

**_(WARNING: Citrus citing ahead.)_**

"_Seto,"_ he'd approached me that night. _"I think we need to talk."_

After we came back from Yoshi's, I escaped to my room with a terse 'good-night'. I'd expected Mokuba to come up because I'd figured Yami would be calling his precious aibou to tell him all about my bad mood. Fucking little worm.

"_About what,"_ I'd replied with more disdain than I'd meant to. _"I'm being nice to your...aibou. What more do you want?"_

_"That's just it, Seto. I don't want you to do that if you don't want to."_

"_So you want me to treat him like the shitty little backstabber he is?" _I'd sneered.

"_No, I just don't want you bending over backwards to appease him because you think it will make me happy."_

"_Not treating him like a shitty little backstabber **is** bending over backwards, Yami. How can you not hate him after how he's treated you?"_

He'd paused then and said the one thing that reminded me how grateful I am that he doesn't bear grudges like I do.

"_How can I not hate **you** after how **you've** treated me, Seto?"_ He'd asked calmly.

I'd looked away, ashamed of my actions with him all over again.

"_Seto,"_ he'd continued after a few moments, _"I know you mean well, but you don't have to hide your anger and disappointment about Yugi from me. He's my aibou, not yours. You owe him no allegiance."_

"_What about the allegiance I owe to you?" _I'd whispered.

"_You don't owe me anything that takes away from your true nature, Seto."_

I'd turned to him and nodded my understanding and acceptance.

"_Besides,"_ he'd concluded with a smirk_, "Don't be fooled into thinking everything is completely honky-dory with me and my aibou. He has a lot to answer for and he knows it won't all be resolved overnight."_

"_Fine,"_ I'd replied soberly.

"_Friends?"_ He'd prodded with a tilt of his head.

I'd wanted to say, _'No. I want more than friends'_, but I relented.

"_Friends,"_ I'd smiled back at him.

And now here we are, lying in his bed as I trace formless patterns on his perfect, mocha-colored chest. I smile to myself in contentment. Mokuba was right. I did need Yami in my life more than I realized. I just hope he'll stay forever this time.

"Seto…" Yami's sleepy voice pulls me from my reverie.

"Hmm?"

"Not that I don't enjoy just lying here with you, but if you want anything more, you're going to have to hurry or I'll be asleep."

"Trust me," I grin, dipping my head to lick at his navel, "You won't be sleeping through anything I do to you."

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He's so right! At the touch of his tongue on my navel, an electric shock shoots through me and I'm suddenly wide-awake. A moment later, he surprises me by flipping me onto my stomach.

"Seto, what are you…." I begin only to be cut off by my own moan as he begins assaulting that spot on the right side of my neck again with teeth, lips and tongue.

I fall further into a lustful delirium as he begins kneading my ass.

"Seto," I moan, becoming very aware of my arousal pressing painfully into the mattress. I can't believe he did this to me so quickly! Turned me into some wanton, moaning slut.

His answer to my writhing and moaning is to begin biting lightly down my back, not pausing in the kneading of my ass. I gasp with pleasure. I'm going to come if he keeps this up.

As if sensing my readiness, he places two quick bites on my ass before flipping me over and claiming my mouth with his talented tongue. Moaning into the engulfing kiss, I slide my fingers into still-damp chestnut and hold on like my life depended on it.

Suddenly, I'm gasping again and his mouth is back on that spot at my neck as he thrusts his arousal against mine.

"S-Seto," I arch against him, my mind blank of anything except the exquisite feeling between my legs. Wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his back, I lose myself in the marvelous friction. Just a little more and…

But, sensing my nearness again, he stops his thrusts and reaches to move my legs.

"Oh, no you don't," he breathes into my ear. "Not until I say so, Yami."

"Y-you're not the boss of me," I pant.

I feel him smile against my neck before he plants a light kiss that sends shivers through me.

"I'm not?" He teases. "We'll just see about that."

He slips from my arms and the bed and pads out of the room.

"Where are you going?" I call after him.

"Lubrication," he replies casually.

I shiver in anticipation.

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'Where is it?' I muse to myself as I open kitchen cabinets randomly. I know I saw him bring in a small jar of…there it is…olive oil.

I head back to the bedroom, now even more aroused by the prospect of what will soon be happening in there.

I find Yami idly stroking himself, a smile on his face. He'd better be thinking about me.

Climbing onto the bed, I knock his hand away.

"I told you, not until I say so, Yami."

He closes his eyes and nods slowly. I guess I should reward such devotion. Placing the oil on the bed next to Yami's head, I crawl between his open legs.

After my first lick at the head nearly has him flying off the bed, I realize I need to hold his hips down as I get to work. As I lick and nip and suck his arousal, his loud panting, moaning and crying out fills the bedroom. Hn. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't try this at Christmas.

I torture him for a good fifteen minutes, bringing him close and backing off at least twice before deciding he's had enough. Actually, I've had enough. If I wait any longer, I'm going to hurt him because of my impatience and I promised him I wouldn't.

Slowly, I kiss up his chest to claim his lips as I reach for the oil.

"Ready, Yami?" I whisper against his cheek. A shaky nod is my reply.

Kneeling between his legs, I coat my fingers with the oil and begin preparing him. I'm sure I'm not his first lover, though I don't think he's ever been on the bottom before. Hopefully, I'm doing well enough that he doesn't know that this is my first time for any of this.

Hn. Seto Kaiba. 24-year-old virgin. Pitiful.

But not for long.

It's weird feeling my fingers sliding in and out of him and it's weird watching him going crazy with the contact.

I add a third finger and lean in to kiss him, using my tongue to mimic the action of my fingers. Yami's in a world of his own. He's just lying there, taking my dual thrusts and moaning as he clutches reflexively at my shoulders.

I remove my fingers and coat myself liberally. Pressing against his entrance, I try to steel myself for its inevitable tightness. Burying my face in Yami's shoulder, I push in slowly.

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The fullness as he slides in slowly overwhelms me and I'm suddenly scared. Scared means I tighten up. Tightening up means it hurts.

"Wait!" I cry out, tears springing to my eyes.

"Shhh," he soothes, kissing my lips lightly. "It's okay, Yami. Just relax."

"It's too big, Seto!" I gasp. "Take it out! Please take it out!"

"It's all right, Yami. Calm down. I'm pulling out now. Just calm down."

I feel the fullness retreat and I sigh with relief as he kisses the tears from the corners of my eyes.

Shit! I've ruined it! Though he masks it well, I still hear the dejection in his voice.

"I-I'm sorry, Seto," I pull away, curling up on my side.

He pulls me into a tight embrace, his chest flush against my back.

"I love you, Yami," he confesses into my hair.

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Great. Moment ruined. Yami freaked and now I tell him that! Why would I tell him that anyway?

Shit!

Maybe I should go home. No, he'd probably feel worse then. Well, staying here probably isn't good either. Especially after saying that!

"Seto?"

"Yes, Yami?" I reply evenly, thankful that my voice isn't as unsettled as I feel.

"You can go home if you want."

Like hell!

"No, Yami. I'll stay here." I pause. "Unless you want me to leave."

Shit! My mouth is running away with me.

"I…Maybe you should."

"Do you want me to, Yami?"

Why did I even start this conversational tangent? I know Yami. He'll say what he thinks I want to hear and/or sacrifice his own well being to make sure I'm all right.

"I think it might be best, considering," he replies evenly, starting to pull away from me.

No. I won't have it. I'm not going anywhere and neither is he.

"Too bad," I sneer, pulling him back into my arms and manipulating the sheets to cover us, "Because I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you. Now, get some sleep. We've both had a long day."

I feel him snuggle into my arms and it's probably the best feeling in the world. Everything will be all right. This is just a minor setback.

"Seto?" he murmurs sleepily, reminding me of the earlier turning point of this evening.

"Hmm?" I mumble into his hair.

A pause.

"I love you, too."

My smile threatens to break my face, but I won't let him know that. At least not yet.

"Of course you do. How can you not?" I reply smugly.

He turns and attacks me. We wrestle and laugh and talk trash until we've played ourselves back into arousal.

This time, Yami barely stands for the preparation and nearly impales himself, impatient to have me inside him.

"God, Seto! You're taking too long! Just fuck me already!"

"So impatient, Yami," I tease, keeping my pace.

"Seto, please," he moans.

"I don't want to hurt you," I pant.

His kiss devours me.

"You won't, baby," he whispers to my lips. "I'll be fine. I promise."

"No, Yami," I decline, continuing my slow slide into him. "Let me do this right. I promised I wouldn't hurt you."

"I love you, Seto," he gasps once I've sheathed myself inside him.

"I love you, too, baby."

Moving slowly at first, I establish a smooth rhythm and placement that keeps me hitting that special bundle of nerves. He whimpers and moans at the contact, fueling my desire.

I don't know how long it lasts, five minutes or twenty-five, but despite all efforts to hold off, I can feel myself getting close. Yami is a squirming, squealing mess beneath me. I send him over the edge with four quick tugs on his overtaxed hardness and a few quick thrusts.

"Seto!" he yells out as he releases all over our chests and stomachs.

As I feel my own end coming near, I sink my teeth into that spot on his neck, riding my climax out with a low growl.

After calming a bit and feeling that my body is about to give out, I collapse at his side to avoid crushing him beneath me.

"Not too bad for a virgin, huh?" I pant.

Yami turns to me, eyes wide with surprise.

"You've never…" he gasps.

I shake my head slowly and gather his still twitching form into my arms.

"Wow," he mumbles.

"Thank you," I breathe.

"Why do you think that was for you," he smirks into my shoulder.

"Wasn't it?"

"Not completely. It was for all of this. For this night. For being with you. For loving you. For you loving me."

A pause.

"And for being in your life again," he whispers.

That's when I truly understand how much he missed me and why he worried so much about us taking this next step. If it all fell apart now, it would destroy him.

Hell, it would destroy me!

So, I'll just have to make sure it doesn't fall apart.

**A/N:** One more chapter to go!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Where It Will**

What the hell is that sound?

I crack one eye open and look around, but whatever the sound was, it seems to have gone away. Good. I snuggle back against Yami, meaning to go back to sleep, when I hear it again. Now I recognize it. 'Fly Like An Eagle.' That's a really old song. But why is it playing? I look up again and see a cell phone dancing on the nightstand. I snatch it up.

"Kaiba!" I bark to whoever has the audacity to make me move from my perfect spot.

"N-Nii-sama? What are you doing answering Yami's phone? Where's Yami?"

"Oh, hey, Mokie," I reply calmly. "Yami's asleep. I'll tell him to call you."

"Can you wake him up? I have the museum on the other line."

"Fine." I put the phone down on the bed and gently shake Yami awake. "Yami, baby. Phone. It's the museum. Wake up."

"Okay, I'm awake," he yawns. "Where's the phone?"

"Behind you." I reach over and hand it to him after another big yawn.

"This is Yami," he states clearly. "Oh hey, Mokuba! Okay, put them through."

As he starts discussing something about his work hours with them, I get up and stretch, heading to the bathroom to pee and shower.

I'm not surprised when Yami joins me in the shower a few minutes later.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I figure if I stand here holding the receiver long enough, a different explanation will come to me. So far, none had.

Nii-sama answered Yami's phone and he'd just woke up.

Nii-sama told me Yami was asleep and I heard covers rustling when he put down the phone.

I heard Nii-sama call Yami 'baby' when he was waking him up.

I heard Nii-sama waking Yami up and he didn't get out of the bed.

Did they…?

Is that why Nii-sama didn't come home last night?

If they did, is that a good thing? Neither of them could survive a break-up. Maybe they should have stayed just friends.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this.

I'll just call Nii-sama and get some real answers.

The phone rings three times before he picks up.

"Kaiba!" Comes his familiar bark.

"Nii-sama, where are you?"

"I'm at Yami's apartment. Didn't you already talk to me this morning, Mokie?"

Mokie twice in one day! No, twice in less than an hour. What's going on?

"Nii-sama, it's Saturday."

"And?"

"Saturday's a work day."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's a work day and you're not at work."

"I'm going in later."

"That's not like you, Nii-sama."

"Mokuba," he sighs at me, "what is it? What do you want to know? Yami and I are trying to get out of here so I can come home and get changed and we can go out to breakfast."

"Changed?"

"We'll be there in 20 minutes, Mokie. We'll talk then." He hangs up.

'Mokie' three times in less than an hour. Wow. It's huge.

Twenty minutes later, I am witness to a bizarre occurrence, several in fact.

Nii-sama at home on a Saturday morning at 9:30 am.

Nii-sama smiling a real smile as he comes in the door.

Nii-sama holding Yami's hand!

Nii-sama and Yami sucking face in the front hall! With the door still open!

Well, I guess that answers all of my questions.

They part and Nii-sama heads past me up the stairs.

"We're leaving in five minutes, Mokuba, if you're going," he calls on his way up. I turn to Yami, whose smile is so bright I'm tempted to find a pair of shades.

"I guess you need an explanation," he grins.

I nod dumbly and follow him into Nii-sama's study. We sit across from each other, him on the couch, and me in the recliner.

"I guess you know we're together now."

Nod.

"I don't know what's going to happen, yet, Mokuba. This just happened last night. But I will be staying in my apartment and not moving back in here. The rest we're playing by ear."

I pause, taking it all in.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes," he smiles.

"Then that's all I care about," I shrug.

"Yami! Mokuba! I'm leaving for breakfast _now_, with or without you!" Nii-sama calls from the front door.

We both scramble to follow him, knowing he's not joking.

As I watch them eat and talk and laugh with each other, a weight I didn't realize I had been carrying lifts from my shoulders.

My Nii-sama is back. Yami did what I knew he could and brought him back. And now when I go away to school he won't be alone.

Yami spouted that 'play it by ear' stuff to try and distract me from knowing the truth; neither he nor Nii-sama would have allowed such a relationship to develop between them if they didn't expect it to be forever. He's only keeping his apartment until I go away and then he'll move in permanently. I'm sure eventually they'll even get around to doing something symbolic to signify their union.

I look at my Nii-sama and smile in my heart. His eyes are bright with life and intensity again. That brow wrinkle is long gone. The arrogance is back in his stance and mannerisms and even his hair has its perfect glimmer back.

And he looks 24, not 54. He's not "old" anymore.

And that smile. That real smile.

Thank you, Yami. I can never repay you for what you've done.

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_Two weeks later:_

**Phone ringing**

"Hello, Yugi Motou's residence."

"Hi Jii-chan!"

"Well, hello, Yami!"

"So you've decided to stay in Hawaii for good, huh?"

"Yes. Yugi and Otogi will be there to pack up my things next month."

"That's good. The climate's probably better for you anyway."

"Speaking of moving, how's your new apartment?"

"It's great, Jii-chan! Very spacious! And no noisy neighbors!"

"Sounds good."

A pause.

"I'll really miss you being here in Japan, Jii-chan."

"Oh, it won't be so bad! Now that you and Yugi are together again, you can call me anytime! And of course you could always come and visit us."

"True, but I can't get away for a while. The museum had me start a few weeks earlier than the planned February 15th date so, I've been a bit swamped."

"How do you like it?"

"I love it Jii-chan!"

"As much as you love Kaiba?"

A pause.

"I told Yugi I'd tell you myself."

"Would you believe it was Mokuba who told me?"

"Mokuba!"

"Yes! He called sometime last week and we talked for hours. He's actually very excited about it."

"He's been very quiet about the whole thing. It's actually bothering Seto quite a bit. He thinks Mokuba doesn't approve, even though I told him that Mokuba said it was all right. Actually, that's why I called you. After I told you, I was going to get your advice because I thought maybe Mokuba didn't actually approve either. And I can't come between them and I can't leave Seto, so I didn't know what to do. Now, I guess we'll just talk to Mokuba and see why he's been so standoffish."

"Maybe he's just afraid to say the wrong thing and ruin what he considers so perfect. Maybe it's a conversation best left to the two of them."

"Maybe you're right. Well, I have to go. But I'll call again soon, I promise."

"Bye Yami! I'm very happy for you!"

"Thanks, Jii-chan! Bye!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I hang up the phone and digest what Jii-chan told me.

Mokuba is happy about us. Seto would be glad to know that, but only if Mokuba tells him.

I know! I'll bail on Yoshi's tonight, claiming I have to work. In the meantime, I'll put a bug in Seto's ear to ask about it. Perfect. I go back to work with a smile on my face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You don't have to work, Yami," Seto correctly surmises, "so quit with the bullshit and tell me the real reason you don't want to go."

I don't know why I thought I could get anything past him. Whether he loves me or not, he's still Seto Kaiba.

"Fine, I don't to work. I just thought you and Mokuba could have some 'brother time' together."

He narrows his eyes.

"What did he say to you?"

"Nothing! I just thought if you could talk to each other without me there, he'd explain his feelings about us being together."

A pause.

"He told you he hates it, didn't he?" His face falls.

"No, baby. Actually, he said that as long as I love you, that's all that mattered to him. But I already told you that."

"So what brought on this 'brother time' crap?"

"Mokuba told Jii-chan."

"What?"

"He called him last week and talked to him for hours about it. Jii-chan said he was very excited about us being together."

"Then why…?" He frowns, not understanding Mokuba's refusal to say the same to him.

"Jii-chan suggested that maybe he was afraid of saying something to mess us up and that maybe if it was just you two, he'd open up."

He grabs me and kisses me soundly.

"What was that for?" I question breathlessly.

"What both of you need to understand is that there is no 'just us' anymore. You're my koi. My mate. Everything that happens concerns all three of us now."

"Seto..."

He kisses me again, lightly.

"Shhh. We'll make it official someday. For now, just take me at my word."

"I will."

Clutching my hand, he calls Mokuba to his study.

"Yes, Nii-sama?"

"You know that Yami and I will be together forever, right?"

"Of course," Mokuba replies as though Seto is the biggest idiot on the planet.

"Then why do you disapprove?"

"Disapprove?" He repeats, incredulously. "I'm happier than you can imagine, Nii-sama."

"Then why haven't you told Seto that?" I question evenly, clutching back at Seto's hand.

The look on Mokuba's face is one of complete clueless-ness.

"Sorry, Nii-sama. I figured you knew, since I was the one trying to get Yami back into your life in the first place."

"Hn. I guess it should have been obvious," he scoffs, before opening his arms to Mokuba. With a smile, he rushes into both our arms, since Seto never let go of my hand.

-Fin?-

. . . 

**A/N:** 'Fly Like An Eagle' is the ring tone for Seto's house phone because that's one of the ways Yami thinks of Seto, proudly soaring.

I might do something else with these guys, but not anytime soon. Still have the one shot and two multi-part sequels for 'Countdown' to do and several new stories that I've outlined or started in long-hand, and the rest of 'Second Best' to do. And that just for this fandom! Hope you've enjoyed!

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, those who read and just sent nice thoughts, those who loved this story so much to name it a favorite and those who posted it in C2 communities! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Mishiko


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